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IIUNOIS  HISTORICAL  SURYS 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL 


REMINISCENCES 


OF 


DAVID  JOHNSTON, 


AN 


OCTOGENARIAN  SCOTCHMAN. 


CHICAGO. 

1885. 


I  dedicate  this  little  volume  to  my  wife,  the  mother  of  my  dutiful  chil- 
dren, my  faithful  friend,  my  able  adviser  in  the  critical  hour  when  to 
save,  advice  was  necessary,  the  sharer  of  my  joys,  and  the 
loving  participator  in  all  that  tended  to  darken  my  exist- 
ence for  upward  of  half  a  century.     In  so  doing  the 
author  may  be  allowed  to  remark  that  this  dan- 
gerous venture  emanated  not  from  her,  but 
from  Margaret,  our  second  child  (now  no 
more  with    us),  indorsed    by    many 
sincere  friends,  on  the  perpetu- 
ation of  whose  kindly  feel- 
ings I  mainly  rely. 

DAVID  JOHNSTON. 


CHAPTER  I. 


INTRODUCTION. 


"  Cope  sent  a  letter  frae  Dunbar, 
Charlie,  meet  me  gin  ye  daur  ; 
It's  then  I'll  shew  ye  the  airt  o'  war, 
Gin  ye  meet  me  here  i'  th'  mornin'." 

A  Challenge  of  the  Eighteenth  Century. 

THAT  mine  enemy  had  written  a  book,"  was 
the  splenetic  utterance  of  one  of  the  olden 
time.  Now,  I  am  by  no  means  certain  that  I  can  lay 
claim  to  that  degree  of  respectability  which  entitles 
one  to  an  enemy.  One  of  the  aphorisms  of  my  native 
land  has  it :  "  They  are  of  sma'  worth  wha'  hae  nae 
enemies."  Should  I  have  the  honor  to  possess  an 
enemy,  and  fail  to  meet  him  in  the  true  Caledonian 
fashion,  face  to  face,  and  should  these  reminiscences 
ever  meet  his  eyes,  he  may  be  informed,  while  he 
chuckles  in  his  sleeve,  that  the  remains  of  the  dear 
lady  who  inspired  this  weakness  lie  in  Rosehill  ceme- 
tery, Chicago,  111.  I  say  and  sing: 

7 


8  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

"  Wha  kens  but  this  bit  humble  line 
May  kittle  up  the  Sacred  Nine 
An'  waukriffe  Scottish  muse. 
Tis  penned  to  please  my  second  bairn, 
And  tho'  a  wee  o'er  auld  tae  learn, 
I  couldna  weel  refuse." 

It  is  now  thirty  years  since  Maggie,  in  her  witching 
way,  extracted  a  promise  from  me  to  take  such  steps  as 
should  obviate  similar  complaints  to  those  which  I  had 
often  heard  urged  against  the  silence  of  my  progeni- 
tors, on  the  passing  events  of  their  earlier  days. 

John  Johnston,  my  father,  was  born  in  Tranent, 
East  Lothian  in  1741,  consequently  must  have  been 
about  four  years  of  age  when  the  last  battle  but  one  was 
fought  in  Scotland,  and  that  at  his  parents'  own  door. 
(The  defeat  of  Sir  John  Cope  at  the  battle  of  Preston- 
pans,  1745,  by  Prince  Charles  Edward  Stuart.)  Sub- 
sequently, after  reading  about  the  wild  romantic  hiding 
in  the  Highlands  of  Charles  Edward  Stuart,  after  the 
battle  of  Culloden,  among  a  poverty-stricken  people, 
whose  fidelity  remained  unshaken  by  the  tempting 
reward  of  30,000  pounds  for  his  head — dead  or  alive — 
and  admiring  especially  the  elevated  and  romantic 
character  of  Flora  McDonald,  I  became  inordinately 
inquisitive  concerning  all  the  events  of  that  troublous 
period  of  our  history,  and  consequently  troublesome  to 
the  easy-going  democratic  old  gentleman,  who  cared 
but  little  who  was  king.  I  used  to  lay  siege  to  him  in 
this  way,  to  get  anything  out  of  him  : 

"  Faither,  hoo  auld  was  I  when  I  had  the  measles?" 

"  Four  years  auld." 

"  D'ye  remember  your  carryin'  me  oot  to  see 
Lord  Elcho's  funeral?" 


OF   DAVID   JOHNSTON.  9 

"  I  do,  my  callant,  but  I'm  sure  ye  ken  but  little 
aboot  that ;  you  were  ower  young." 

"  Young  as  I  was,  faither,  I  counted  seventy-two 
carriages  that  followed  the  hearse,  that  hearse  having 
'  Memento  Mori'  in  gold  letters  on  its  side." 

"  Weel,  what  of  that,  Dauvid  ?  I'm  sure  it  would  be 
far  more  profitable  for  you  tae  turn  your  attention  tae 
the  principles  of  fermentation,  by  whilk  we  can  turn 
the  guid  gifts  o'  the  Almighty  tae  the  best  advantage 
by  making  breed  fit  tae  pit  intae  the  stamach,  instead 
o'  wasting  your  time  and  troubling  your  head  aboot 
wha  shall  govern  th'  kingdoms. three." 

"  But,  faither,  I  only  want  to  ken  what  ye  saw,  what 
ye  heard,  and  what  ye  remember  of  the  bloody  work 
done  around  your-  ain  faither's  door  in  the  rising  of 
1745,  which  nowadays  is  in  everybody's  mouth,  and 
you  are  the  only  Tranent  man  in  the  Nungate  that 
kens  onything  aboot  it." 

"  Weel,  Dauvid,  if  I  should  relate  to  you  a'  I  saw, 
heard  and  remember  of  that  tuilzie,  will  ye  promise 
never  to  trouble  me  ony  mair  aboot  wha  sits  on  the 
throne,  or  wha  aspires  tae  that  uneasy  seat?  I'll  just 
dae  what  I  can  tae  please  ye." 

"Thank  ye,  faither,  but  would  ye  have  ony  objec- 
tions tae  a  few  o'  ma  frien's  being  present  tae  hear  ye?" 

"  Your  frien's  !     Wha  are  they  ?  " 

"Weel,  Johnny  Tamson,  Willie  McKay,  Jock  Purvis, 

Peter  Elder,  Jamie  Shaw,   Sandy   Howden   and 

'  Stop  !'  said  my  father.  '  In  the  name  of  the  auld  kirk, 
when  are  ye  coming  tae  the  end  o'  your  list  o'  frien's? 
And  hoo  did  ye  acquire  them,  Dauvid  ?  '  ' 

The  first  half  of  the  above  question  was  answered 


10 

by  my  stating  that  the  largest  number  had  yet  to  be 
named.     To  the  other  half — they  had  lent  me  books. 

Some  score  of  neighbors,  at  the  given  hour,  were 
seated  in  front  of  a  cheerful  fire  of  Pencaithland  coal, 
all  eager  to  hear  an  eye  and  ear  witness  of  the  horrors 
of  civil  war  in  its  wild  ravages  on  the  peaceful  plains  of 
Lothian.  My  mother  seemed  to  betray  a  little  uneasi- 
ness, caused  by  my  oversight  in  failing  to  consult  her  do- 
mestic convenience  for  so  many  neighbors  at  a  time,  and 
next  day  advised  me  "never  tae  invite  ony  mair  folk  than 
ye  hae  chairs  or  cutty  stools  tae  seat  them  on."  But  it  is 
wonderful  what  a  thrifty  housewife  can  do  to  restore 
order  out  of  chaos,  and  to  create  happiness  with  limited 
means.  It  was  given  out  that  an  interesting  account  of 
the  way  in  which  the  Kilties  handled  their  broad- 
swords in  support  of  Prince  Charlie  on  that  day, 
whereon  the  good  and  pious  Colonel  Gardner  fell  close 
to  his  own  estate  at  Prestonpans  would  be  given  in  my 
faither's  house. 

My  father  had  just  set  his  sponge  for  the  morn's 
batch,  when  coming  ben,  and  greeting  his  neighbors 
present,  I  thought  I  could  detect  in  his  placid  coun- 
tenance something  akin  to  surprise  at  the  extent  of  his 
youngest  son's  list  of  acquaintances. 

Indeed,  I  overheard  a  remark  made  (sotto  voce)  to 
my  mother,  never  intended  for  my  ear: 

"  Peggy >  whatever  may  betide  that  daft  callant  of 
ours  through  life,  he  will  never  lack  friends.  God 
save  us  !  he  makes  them  by  the  baker's  dozen." 

What  the  dear  old  soul  told  us  that  night  will  be  food 
for  another  chapter. 


OF   DAVID   JOHNSTON".  11 

It  might  be  well  to  remark  here,  that  the  invited 
guests  came  not  alone.  Willie  Shaw,  the  tailor,  must 
needs  bring  Jock  Samson,  the  flesher,  and  his  son-in- 
law,  Tarn  Gourlay,  the  latter  being  tift  at  not  being 
specially  invited.  Jock  Purvis,  the  blacksmith,  brought 
Jock  Wilson,  the  cairtwright,  and  douce  John  Aitchi- 
son,  the  weaver.  Poor  Johnny  Goodale,  who  was 
shortly  after  that  date  found  perished  under  the  snow 
near  Grantsbraes,  brought  his  boon  crony  o'er  a  taste 
o'  the  aquavitae.  Robie  Murray,  the  baker,  and  Sandy 
Howden,  the  brewer — in  short,  all  the  Nungate  was 
there  to  listen  to  a  description  of  the  battle  of  Preston- 
pans  by  an  eye  witness  in  the  fourth  year  of  his  age. 
My  mother,  one  of  the  best  of  housekeepers,  was  evi- 
dently disconcerted  at  the  crowd  of  unexpected  visit- 
ors, and  I  burned  for  very  shame  at  being  the  sole 
cause  of  her  perturbation,  and  often  subsequently  mar- 
veled at  my  escape  of  merited  punishment ;  but  I  have 
sometimes  thought  that  I  stand  indebted  for  impunity 
to  a  wee  bit  touch  of  the  dear  old  gentleman's  pride. 
Lest  the  reader  should  be  at  a  loss  to  account  for  such 
interest  called  into  play  by  the  mere  whim  of  a  daft 
callant,  he  is  reminded  that  in  those  days  intercommu- 
nication was  very  limited,  and  the  popular  thirst  for 
knowledge  must  have  been  increased  from  the  very 
lack  of  these  facilities  which  bless  the  present  age.  It 
is  true  that  the  massive  brain  of  James  Watt  had 
matured  into  practical  utility,  but  the  greatest  benefits 
arising  from  the  potency  of  steam  were  reserved  for  a 
later  and  a  happier  epoch.  Also  true  the  active 
mind  of  Stephenson  was  ripening  into  that  state  of  per- 
fection which  would  enable  him  to  bless  the  world  with 


12  AUTOBIOGKAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES. 

his  revolutionizing  locomotive,  but  failed  as  yet  to  con- 
ceive of  a  vessel  with  capacity  to  carry  fuel  enough  to 
steam  her  across  the  Atlantic.  True  that  Franklin  had 
caught  the  electric  spark,  and  trimmed  his  press  so  as 
to  pave  the  way  for  these  delightful  literary  advantages 
we  are  now  enjoying.  I  am  led  to  believe  that  the 
comparison  of  the  past  and  present  periods  will  serve 
to  account  for  the  credulity  of  the  former,  as  mani- 
fested on  that  domestic  occasion. 


CHAPTER  II. 


"  Honor  thy  Father  and  thy  Mother." 

ALL,  except  my  father,  were  eager  for  the  recital, 
whose  seat  was  evidently  one  of  thorns.  Even 
the  cutty  stool  whereon  I  sat  was  anything  but  easy. 
My  father's  furtive  glances  brought  home  the  painful 
consciousness  of  being  the  author  of  this  dilemma,  and 
made  me  regret  the  part  I  had  taken  in  betraying  his 
retiring,  taciturn  nature  into  a  hasty  promise,  leading 
to  such  a  painful  scrape.  However,  the  evening's 
entertainment  went  off  with  eclat  to  the  speaker,  and 
with  delight  to  the  audience  (my  mother  not  excepted). 
As  for  the  guilty  plotter  of  this  drama,  he  was  per- 
fectly carried  away.  On  the  following  day  I  put  my 
foot  in  it  again.  Molding  the  batch  placed  beyond 
the  reach  of  the  third  ear,  and  intending  to  be  compli- 
mentary, I  ventured  a  criticism  on  his  narrative  of  the 
battle  of  Prestonpans  as  being  second-handed. 

"  Second-handed !  You  young  scapegrace,  what  do 
you  mean  by  such  a  term  applied  to  me  ?  " 

"  Weel,  faither,  pardon  me  for  the  use  of  the  wrong 
word.  I  was  gaen  to  say  that  remembering  but  little 
yersel,  you  took  up  the  thread  of  others  and  handled  it 
grandly." 

"  Tuts,  callant,  for  guid  sake  haud  the  tongue  o'  ye, 
and  try  and  chaff  thae  baps  a  wee  bit  better  than  ye're 

13 


14  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

daeing."     After  a  long  pauSe  he  added,  "  So  you  think 
they  were  pleased,  Dauvid,  wi'  what  I  tell't  them  ?  " 
"  Pleased,  father?     They  were  delighted." 
"Weel,  say  nae  mair  aboot  it,  and  if  you    should 
ever  haver  me  into  sic  a  position  as  that  the  second 
time  it  will  be  my  fault,  that's  all." 

It  was  clear  that  whatsoever  the  gratification  the 
narrative  of  the  previous  evening  imparted  to  the 
hearers,  it  was  anything  but  pleasurable  to  the  narra- 
tor. Indeed  it  was  foreign  to  his  nature,  for  I  never 
knew  him  to  patiently  sit  out  a  lengthy  discourse  of  any 
kind — not  even  a  good  sermon  preached  by  his  favorite, 
Dr.  Sibbald,  of  Christ-like  memory;  but  he  had  given 
his  word,  and  John  Johnston's  word  was  John  John- 
ston's bond.  He  commenced  by  apologizing  for  his 
lack  of  memory,  saying,  "  that  for  the  little  that  I  do 
know  of  the  great  battle  I  am  beholden  to  others, 
especially  to  my  father,  Alexander  Johnston,  who 
remembered  the  rising  of  1715  as  well  as  that  of  '45, 
and  who  farmed  a  few  acres  of  McCaddel  of  Cockenzie 
adjoining  the  low  land  whereon  the  battle  of  Preston- 
pans  was  lost  and  won.  Also  to  my  elder  brother 
Alexander,  who  died  in  1755,  and  who,  accompanied 
by  John  Glen,  his  cousin,  started  on  horseback  for 
Edinburgh  on  the  morning  of  the  battle,  little  dream- 
ing that  the  hostile  armies  would  so  soon  meet,  and 
strew  their  peaceful  fields  with  the  dead  and  the  dying. 
Their  business  in  Edinburgh  over,  the  two  young  men 
prepared  to  take  the  road  home,  but  were  advised  to 
remain  in  the  city  till  morning,  as  the  road  would  be 
full  of  stragglers  dangerous  to  travelers.  Apprehensive 
of  danger  at  home  the  two  young  men  dared  that  of 


OF    DAVID    JOHNSTON.  15 

the  ten  miles  of  road  that  lay  between  them  and  Tran- 
ent,  and  took  the  saddle.  They  met  groups  of  wild- 
looking  men,  speaking  a  language  they  could  not 
understand,  some  of  whom  were  laden  down  with  what 
they  supposed  to  be  the  spoils  of  battle.  They  were 
joyful  and  peaceable,  but  much  fatigued,  yet  the  appear- 
ance of  drunkenness  was  nowhere  to  be  seen  among  them. 
Ascending  the  rising  ground  whereon  the  Prince  and  his 
army  had  bivouacked  on  the  previous  night,  and  arriv- 
ing at  the  entrance  of  a  steep  lane  called  Birsley  Brae, 
which  leads  down  to  the  valley,  the  chosen  position  of 
Sir  John  Cope,  and  within  sight  of  their  respective 
homes,  they  congratulated  themselves  on  getting  back 
safe  to  their  own  native  Tranent.  In  the  uncertain  light 
of  the  gloaming  three  men  in  the  Highland  garb  ap- 
peared in  front  of  their  horses,  saluting  civilly  in  broken 
English  the  two  riders, '  Shentlemen,  we  stand  in  need  of 
three  horses  to  carry  us  to  Holyrood  Palace.  Please 
dismount,  quickly.  Being  tired  in  pursuing  those  run- 
away red-coats  we'll  have  to  ride  slow,  and  if  you  like 
to  walk  in  our  company,  you  can  have  your  horses  at 
the  Canongate  of  Edinburgh,  and  all  charges  will  be 
duly  met  at  the  Commissary  Department  of  Prince 
Charles  Edward  Stuart,  Commander-in-chief  of  the 
forces  of  his  Majesty,  by  the  grace  of  God  King  of 
England,  Scotland  and  Ireland,  in  whose  royal  service 
we  have  the  honor  to  be."  In  war  circumlocution  is 
shelved,  and  there  being  no  alternative  the  riders  took 
the  pedestrian  mode  of  locomotion,  and  vice  versaed 
with  the  trio,  for  the  third  kilty  seated  himself  on  the 
crupper  of  the  stoutest  horse.  Descending  the  hill 
to  Musselburgh  Links,  they  found  the  highroad 


16  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

obstructed  by  a  large  crowd,  assembled  to  have  a  view 
of  the  prince,  who,  at  Pinkie  House,  was  preparing  to 
hold  his  levee  at  Holyrood  Palace.  Many  of  the  sight- 
seers were  mounted,  and  now  was  the  chance  for  a 
third  horse,  to  appropriate  which  was  but  the  work  of 
a  few  minutes.  A  sturdy  farmer  from  Dalkeith  was 
selected  for  the  honor  of  not  gazing  on  the  Prince,  for 
which  purpose  he  had  ridden  six  miles,  but  serving  the 
king  by  walking  six  miles  at  the  heels  of  his  own 
horse  with  the  somewhat  distant  prospect  of  being 
remunerated  out  of  a  depleted  exchequer.  But  "  needs 
must  when  the  Devil  drives,"  and  glittering  claymores 
are  potent  in  argument  with  the  unarmed.  Dismount- 
ing at  the  Watergate,  the  spokesman  of  the  trio,  who 
had  it  all  their  own  way,  thanked  the  trio  who  had 
nothing  to  say  in  the  premises,  and  with  a  bow  a  la  mil- 
itaire,  wished  them  good-night  and  pleasant  dreams, 
without  even  a  '  deoch  au  dorais  '  to  cheer  their  weary 
retracing  steps.  My  brother  said  that  a  peep  into  the 
Canongate  was  enough  of  Edinburgh  that  night.  The 
result  of  the  battle  made  all  within  its  walls  a  perfect 
Pandemonium.  While  the  Whigs  hid  their  devoted 
heads  the  Tories  were  correspondingly  uproarious, 
being,  of  course,  joined  by  the  Go-betweens,  the  largest 
class  of  the  three. 

Great  was  the  anxiety  at  home  on  account  of  the 
long,  mysterious  absence  of  the  boys,  and  great  was  the 
joy  over  their  midnight  return.  My  father,  who  was 
tender  hearted,  could  never  be  induced  to  dwell  upon 
the  scenes  he  and  all  the  neighbors  witnessed  on  the 
following  day,  and  he  said,  "  I  am  sure  ye  wudna'  like 
to  hear  them  yersels,  and  what  the  laddie  can  mean  by 


OF   DAVID    JOHNSTON.  17 

belittling  his  faither  by  fleetching  him  to  blather  before 
his  betters,  I  am  at  a  loss  to  discover.  Of  course,  ye 
dinna  want  me  to  follow  that  handsome,  brainless' chev- 
alier out  of  our  ain  Lothians,  or  tell  you  how  he  frit- 
tered away  his  time  and  advantages  in  practicing  king- 
craft in  the  seat  of  his  ancestors;  how,  having  a'  the 
help  that  Scotland  could  gie  him,  he  took  his  wild  High- 
landers across  the  border  and  penetrated  England  as 
far  as  the  toon  o'  Derby;  how,  at  the  council  o'  war 
held  there,  he  like  a'  the  rest  o'  his  daft  family,  confound- 
ing reckless  bravery  with  the  quality  o'  prudence,  voted 
in  opposition  to  a'  his  officers,  and  would  insist  upon 
marching  southland  with  his  inadequate  force  taking 
London  ;  how  on  their  way  back  to  the  north,  they  met 
with  reverses  in  Cumberland  and  finally  met  the  Duke 
of  Cumberland  on  the  fatal  field  of  Culloden,  who  with 
one  fell  swoop  crushed  the  futile  attempt  to  regain 
that  power  over  the  United  Kingdom  which  was  so 
justly  forfeited  by  the  Stuart-like  conduct  of  his  big- 
oted progenitor,  James  II  of  England,  VII  of  Scotland." 

Of  the  four  specimens  of  that  unhappy  race  as  kings, 
we,  as  Scotchmen,  have  very  little  to  be  proud.  From  all 
repetition  of  such  government,  may  the  Lord  deliver  us  ! 

Their  predecessors,  the  Tudors,  were  tyrants,  but 
there  was  dignity  in  their  tyranny.  The  low,  shuffling 
cunning  of  James  I,  who  confounded  his  flippant  con- 
troversial capacity  with  the  quality  of  wisdom,  com- 
pared unfavorably  with  the  deceased  Elizabeth.  Of 
the  baneful  effect  of  their  misrule  poor  auld  Scotland 
came  in  for  more  than  her  share,  and  the  bare  remem- 
brance of  having  furnished  the  raw  material  brings  the 
blush  of  shame  to  the  cheeks  of  a  Scotchman. 
2 


CHAPTER  III. 


"Some  are  born  with  a  wooden  spoon  in  their  mouths,  and  some 
with  a  golden  ladle." — Goldsmith. 

r  I  ^HE  night  on  which  my  father  related  his  four- 
JL  year-old  experience  to  my  particular  friends  in  the 
Nungate,  the  flames  of  Moscow  were  proclaiming  to  a 
silly  world  the  folly  of  war.  Something  must  be  said 
of  my  beloved  parent  during  the  sixty-nine  years  that 
intervened  between  the  battle  of  Prestonpans  and  the 
terrible  destruction  of  the  Russian  sacred  capital.  The 
theme  is  intoxicating,  and  in  order  to  be  brief  I  must 
curb  my  pen.  Seven  years  of  his  valuable  life  were 
spent  in  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  a  business  (that  of 
baker),  which  as  many  months  would  have  sufficed  to 
impart.  In  manufacturing  the  staff  of  life,  the  nearer 
he  comes  to  the  auld  wife,  the  better  the  baker.  Get- 
ting into  business  in  his  native  town,  he  married  Isa- 
bella Hay,  by  whom  he  had  two  sons  and  two  daugh- 
ters. Looking  on  the  profession  of  arms  as  a  species 
of  insanity,  he  was  painfully  mortified  by  his  oldest  son 
John's  enlisting  in  the  Royal  Artillery,  and  after  a  year 
of  soldiers'  life  in  garrison  at  Woolwich  becoming  so 
enamored  of  the  calling,  that  he  resolved  to  induce  his 
brother  Alexander  to  follow  his  example.  He  had  no 
difficulty  in  obtaining  a  furlough  for  that  purpose,  for 

18 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL    REMINISCENCES.  19 

the  brothers  were  valuable  recruits,  John  six  feet  one 
inch  and  a  half,  Aleck  six  feet  one-half  inch,  propor- 
tionately made,  and  twelve  feet  two  inches  of  good  stuff 
to  be  shot  at  for  the  honor  of  the  king  was  not  to  be 
overlooked  at  the  rate  of  twice  thirteen  pence  a  day. 

"War  is  a  game  which,  were  their  subjects  wise, 
Kings  would  seldom  play  at." 

But  to  return  to  my  father.  Being  well  respected 
he  prospered  in  business,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few 
years  realized  the  wherewithal  to  build  three  stone 
houses  on  a  piece  of  land  which  was,  before  the  houses 
were  finished,  found  to  have  been  sold  on  a  false  title. 
Litigation  ensued,  and  was  carried  on  to  the  total  ruin 
of  his  position  in  Tranent.  In  the  true  Johnstonian 
spirit  he  could  not  brook  the  atmosphere  of  his  failure, 
and  penniless  he  came  to  Haddington  to  begin  the 
world  anew.  Not  being  privileged  to  the  royal  burgh, 
he  commenced  in  business  just  outside  the  red  tape 
boundaries,  in  the  Nungate,  making  himself  thirle  to 
the  town  mills  for  his  weekly  grist,  and  paying  custom 
for  every  basket  of  bread  he  sent  into  the  town. 
Thanks  to  the  spirit  of  progression,  those  imposts  are 
now  matters  of  history. 

The  love  of  country  is  so  strong  within  me  that  I 
feel  tempted  to  venture  a  verse  in  praise  of  my  beloved 
Haddington. 

Then  patience,  freens,  while  yet  I  sing 
O'  Lothian's  bonny  Eastern  wing 

An'  o'  its  toons  the  chief — 
Whene'er  the  thocht  comes  in  ma'  pow 
It  sets  my  auld  heart  in  a  lowe 

The  name  o'  't  brings  relief  ! 


:>0  AUTOBIOGHAPHICAL    REMINISCENCES 

Sin'  that  day  first  I  ga'ed  my  lane 
Or  lap  frae  aff  the  custom  stane. 

Has  ne'er  yet  met  my  ee, 
'Mang  a'  the  busy  haunts  o'  men, 
A  bonnier  toon  than  Haddington 

On  either  side  the  sea  ! 

'Tvvas  here  where  first  I  drew  my  breath 
And  closed  my  parents'  een  in  death, 

And  laid  them  'neath  the  stane, 
Near  by  the  Lamp  o'  Lothian's  porch 
Which  proved  in  ancient  times  a  torch 

Tae.  Burgher.  Hind  and  Thane. 

The  bleaching  field,  alluvial  haugh, 
Fringed  wi"  birks  an'  siller  saugh 

In  undulating  line, 
Where  far  removed  frae  vulgar  gaze 
The  bonny  lasses  bleach  their  claes 

Knee  deep  in  crystal  Tyne. 

Nae  wonder  Scotland's  saintly  King, 
Indulging  in  his  priestly  whim, 

Sent  Royalty  tae  the  wa', 
And  flew  tae  Tyne's  sweet  lovely  banks 
To  shrive,  and  offer  up  his  thanks, 

And  meditate  the  law. 

By  Amesfield's  slopes  and  Steinston  brae 
The  Royal  poet  lo'ed  to  stray 

Tae  'scape  the  world's  din, 
In  contemplative  soul  elate 
He  fed  the  Kirk  and  starved  the  State 

Unconscious  o'  his  sin. 

Oh  Tyne  !   across  thy  lovely  wave 
The  quoin  and  sacred  architrave 
Their  shadows  deep  he  threw. 
Where  now,  alas  !  those  stately  towers, 
Cloistered  maze,  and  shady  bovvers 
.  Sae  glorious  tae  the  view  ? 


OF   DAVID    JOHNSTON.  21 

The  Abbey  village,  and  the  mill, 
The  classic  mind  with  dolor  fill, 

And  sorrowful  emotion, 
In  pointing  out  the  lowly  plain 
Where  David  reared  this  sacred  fane 

In  sanctified  devotion. 

My  father  was  thus  left,  not  only  penniless,  but 
wifeless,  childless,  and  landless.  He  lost  his  excellent 
wife  by  death,  his  sons  by  enlistment,  his  daughters  by 
marriage,  his  land  by  fraud,  and  his  pennies  by  litiga- 
tion. To  counteract  his  penury,  he  brought  with  him 
good  health,  an  indomitable  spirit,  a  good  conscience, 
and  a  physical  personal  aspect  not  easily  matched. 

A  young  English  traveler  came  along  and  touched 
a  chord  in  a  hidden  part  of  Janet,  his  eldest  daughter, 
which  led  to  an  interesting  correspondence  ending  in 
the  Scotch  lassie  becoming  an  English  wife.  The 
happy  pair  took  up  their  residence  near  Tunbridge 
Wells,  but  whether  she  became  thereby  a  Kentish 
woman,  or  a  woman  of  Kent,  I  never  could  determine. 
She  lived  to  be  the  mother  of  a  large  family,  whom  I 
visited  in  1834. 

David  Davidson,  of  the  Commissary  Department, 
of  the  Royal  Artillery,  laid  siege  to  the  hand  of  Mar- 
garet the  youngest  child,  who  was  deemed,  from  her 
personal  appearance,  the  belle  of  Tranent.  The  siege 
was  crowned  with  success.  A  family  sprang  from  this 
union  of  three  sons  and  five  daughters.  The  eldest 
son,  Samuel,  took  up  his  abode  as  a  banker  in  Kirk- 
caldy ;  David  was  drowned  off  Peterhead  ;  the  third 
son,  Alexander,  clerked  in  his  father's  office.  The  girls 
were  all  well  married  in  Leith  ;  the  eldest  to  Mr.  Her- 


22  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

vey,  the  eminent  lawyer  in  that  town.  Society  in  the 
Nungate  was  anything  but  pretentious,  and  John  John- 
ston soon  became  a  respected  integer  of  it. 

Dr.  Maitland  deservedly  stood  at  the  top,  but  there 
were  those  who  in  point  of  general  information  were 
pretty  nearly  equal  to  the  Doctor ;  prominent  among 
whom  was  'Squire  Nisbet  ('Squire  by  courtesy),  the  fruit 
grower  at  whose  house  the  elite  of  the  village  sometimes 
held  their  meetings,  and  at  which  my  father  became  a  fre- 
quent visitor.  Mrs.  Nisbet  had  been  dead  some  years, 
leaving  two  daughters  to  preside  over  the  'Squire's  hos- 
pitable hearth — Mary,  the  eldest,  already  betrothed  to 
Robert  Allen,  the  oatmeal  miller,  and  Margaret,  of  whom 
it  was  ^hinted,  "  she  might  dae  waur  than  cast  her  een 
toward  the  tall  widower  frae  Tranent."  Gossip  seldom 
errs  in  these  matters ;  nor  was  she  wrong  in  this  instance. 
Conforming  to  all  the  rules  of  immaculate  society,  Peggy 
Nisbet  in  due  time  became  Mrs.  John  Johnston.  This 
marriage  was  solemnized  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Sibbald,  of 
the  Established  Kirk  (notwithstanding  the  Nisbets 
were  all  Episcopalians),  in  1798.  Two  sons  and  two 
daughters  were  given  them,  Margaret  (who  died  young), 
in  1799;  James,  in  1801  ;  my  unworthy  self,  on  March 
22d,  1803,  and  Elizabeth  in  1805.  'Squire  James  Nis- 
bet had  a  brother  George,  who  had  been  many  years 
Land  Steward  with  General  Wheatly,  of  Lesney 
Park,  Erith,  Kent,  one  of  Queen  Charlotte's  Equerries. 

George  had  been  many  years  a  childless  widower, 
his  domestic  affairs  being  managed  by  his  only  sister, 
Margaret,  who  was  found  one  morning  in  the  adjoin- 
ing wood  of  Lesney  all  but  dead  from  bruises  on 
her  head  and  face,  inflicted  by  a  blunt  instrument. 


OF   DAVID    JOHNSTON.  23 

The  crime  was  clearly  traced,  both  by  evidence  and 
confession,  to  James  Morgan,  a  brick-maker  in  Erith, 
who  died  the  death  of  the  malefactor  at  the  county 
town,  Maidstone.  The  old  lady,  by  dint  of  her  fine 
constitution,  survived  that  dreadful  treatment  for  many 
years.  The  first  time  I  gazed  upon  the  distorted, 
emaciated  countenance  of  that  poor  old  lady,  I  mar- 
veled at  her  tenacity  of  life.  • 

That  day  she  declared  to  me  that  the  most  painful 
scene  of  the  tragedy  was  giving  her  compulsory  evi- 
dence at  Maidstone,  which  sent  a  fellow-creature  to  the 
gallows.  She  survived  this  tragedy  many  years,  and 
died  upwards  of  ninety  years  of  age. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


"  What's  in  a  name?  that  which  we  call  a  rose 
By  any  other  name  would  smell  as  sweet." 

THE  effect  of  this  dreadful  event  told  fearfully  on 
the  mind  of  Mr.  Nisbet,  who  in  a  short  time 
evinced  symptoms  of  mental  derangement.  In  his 
lucid  moments  he  would  lament  the  loss  of  his  sister's 
companionable  qualities,  and  crave  for  that  society 
which  his  local  position  denied.  In  that  spirit,  he  wrote 
to  his  niece  (my  mother)  begging  of  her  and  my  father 
to  part  with  one  of  their  boys,  to  effect  which  he  held 
out  the  most  tempting  inducements  in  the  way  of  edu- 
cation, the  disposal  of  his  property,  and  so  forth.  The 
prospective  advantages  of  this  proposition  my  parents 
were  in  no  position  to  resist. 

On  the  vote  of  the  two  younkers  being  canvassed 
on  the  subject  I  leapt  to  it  with  alacrity,  viewing  the 
whole  thing  as  a  Godsend-opening  to  my  roving  dispo- 
sition. Jamie,  on  the  contrary,  gave  no  signs  of  a 
desire  to  leave  home.  My  heart  leapt  for  joy  that  I 
should  shortly  see  the  great  city  of  London,  see  Eng- 
land, and  ride  to  school  on  a  pony. 

Necessary  arrangements  were  completed  to  the  sat- 
isfacton  of  all  parties,  and  the  day  appointed  whereon 
my  father  was  to  carry  me  to  Leith  on  the  "  Good  In- 
tent" coach,  and  to  put  me  on  board  of  a  smack  for 

24 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES.  25 

London,  when  lo !  a  brief  note  from  Lesney,  couched  in 
the  following  terms : 

LESNEY  PARK,  COUNTY  KENT,  May  10,  1809. 
My  Dear  Niece  : 

I  hope  you  will  pardon  my  absentmindedness.  I  find  that  in  our 
correspondence  I  have  overlooked  that  which  I  deem  a  very  important 
matter.  I  have  traveled  back  in  the  pedigree  of  the  Nisbets  for  the 
last  two  hundred  years  and  fail  to  find  a  David  in  the  list.  Taking 
for  granted  that  your  eldest  son  takes  his  name  from  my  brother,  I 
should  esteem  it  a  favor  if  you  would  send  James  instead  of  David, 
without  any  disparagement  to  the  latter. 

From  your  affectionate  Uncle, 

GEO.  NISBET. 

Thus  were  all  my  aspirations  for  the  future  nipped 
in  the  bud,  for  when  was  ever  the  rich  man's  request 
denied  by  the  poor?  My  brother  reluctantly  assumed 
the  position  intended  for  me,  and  I,  with  a  bad  grace, 
undertook  to  fill  his  shoes  at  home. 

The  great  poet  asks,  "What's  in  a  name?"  My 
answer,  if  it  could  find  expression,  would  be,  "  A  young 
ambition  crushed."  At  Lesney,  for  five  years,  every- 
thing went  on  satisfactorily  till  the  8th  of  January, 
1815.  The  very  day  on  which  the  battle  of  New 
Orleans  was  fought,  George  Nisbet,  in  a  fit  of  insanity, 
ended  his  days  by  suicide.  Nothing  now  left  at  Lesney 
of  an  inviting  nature,  James  resolved  to  return  to  the 
home  of  his  fathers.  During  that  short  period  many 
important  events  had  transpired.  After  his  unfort- 
unate campaign  in  Russia,  Napoleon  had  resigned  his 
power  over  France  at  Fontainebleau,  and  agreed  with 
the  Allied  Powers  to  content  himself  with  the  title  of 
ex-emperor  in  the  isle  of  Elba,  where  he  remained  till 
the  commencement  of  the  Hundred  Days,  February 


26  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL    REMINISCENCES 

12,  1814,  which  added  one  hundred  million  pounds  to 
the  national  debt  of  England,  a  sum  rendered  insig- 
nificant by  the  result  of  Waterloo.  During  these  hun- 
dred days  our  little  town  was  the  scene  of  great  bustle 
and  confusion.  In  addition  to  the  regular  barracks  for 
infantry,  cavalry  and  artillery,  scarcely  a  day  passed 
without  soldiers  being  billeted  on  the  inhabitants  and 
regiments  passing  on  their  way  to  the  seaboard,  all  eager 
to  embark  for  the  continent  to  meet  the  great  hero  in 
the  coming  fight.  Then  there  was  the  local  volunteer 
army,  the  yeomanry  and  militia,  besides  several  recruit- 
ing parties  picking  up  the  unwary  stalwarts  with  the 
tempting  "  Geordies  "  peeping  through  the  meshes  of 
the  silken  purse.  Forty  pounds  were  given  to  any  man 
who  would  leave  the  local  and  join  the  regulars.  The 
well  known  warlike  aphorism,  ascribed  to  Sir  Robert 
Peel,  "That  to  preserve  peace,  a  nation  must  ever  be 
ready  for  war,"  is  evidently  an  outgrowth  of  England's 
immemorial  practice  and  policy.  At  what  period  of 
her  history,  it  may  be  asked,  has  she  ever  been  caught 
napping  ?  Never  has  there  been  a  period  in  which  her 
eternal  vigilance  has  been  so  severely  tested  as  at  the 
time  of  which  I  speak.  An  apprehension  that  Napoleon 
would  by  some  means  obtain  a  footing  and  make  Eng- 
land the  theatre  of  war  was  extensively  entertained, 
and  for  once  the  people  and  the  government  united  in 
straining  every  nerve  in  order  to  obviate  such  a  calam- 
ity. Napoleon's  breach  of  parole  at  Elba,  his  landing  in 
France,  his  reception  at  Lyons,  the  conduct  of  Marshal 
Ney,  embracing  the  man  whom  he  was  intrusted  with 
an  army  to  oppose,  and  his  triumphant  approach  to 
Paris,  all  tended  to  strengthen  the  dreaded  idea. 


OF   DAVID  JOHNSTON.  27 

So  closed  the  memorable  year  of  1814,  nor  was  the 
situation  improved  by  the  defeat  of  the  English  army 
under  Pakenham  on  the  threshold  of  the  new  year, 
1815,  by  the  youthful  arms  of  America  under  Jackson. 
Napoleon  was  received  in  Paris  with  open  arms  and 
with  cries  of  "Vive  1'Empereur!"  He  reviewed  his 
army  at  the  Tuileries,  announced  the  return  of  the 
empress,  and  prepared  to  meet  the  approaching  allied 
army.  For  that  purpose  he  left  Paris  on  the  I2th 
of  June,  and  on  the  I4th  and  i6th  fought  the  battles 
of  Fleury  and  Ligny  with  doubtful  success.  On 
the  1 8th  the  famous  battle  of  Waterloo  was  fought. 
The  brunt  of  the  struggle  was  borne  by  the  English 
under  Wellington,  which  was  rendered  decisive  by  the 
timely  arrival  of  the  Prussians  under  Blucher.  It  has 
been  computed  that  the  French  lost  50,000  men  in  the 
three  days'  fight.  Napoleon  returned  to  Paris  and 
abdicated  in  favor  of  his  son,  then  gave  himself  up  to 
the  English  at  Rochefort.  The  allies  consigned  the 
great  chieftain  to  eke  out  the  remnant  of  his  days  on 
the  barren  rock  of  St!  Helena,  where  he  died  on  the  5th 
of  May,  1821.  Thus  fell  the  man  whose  towering 
ambition  and  military  talent  brought  the  civilized  world 
within  his  own  personal  keeping,  and  doubtless,  if  the 
humiliation  of  his  fall  proved  proportionate  to  his 
former  greatness,  his  mental  suffering  must  have  short- 
ened his  life. 


CHAPTER    V. 


"  Friendship  !  mysterious  cement  of  the  soul ! 
Sweet'ner  of  life,  and  solder  of  society  ! 
I  owe  thee  much  !  " — Blair. 

AT  this  momentous  period  our  little  community 
seemed  to  lose  all  its  wonted  simplicity.  In- 
stead of  that  quiet,  social  kindness  which  characterized 
the  inhabitants  of  this  fruitful  valley  in  my  early  day, 
there  sprang  up  a  restless  desire  to  get  speedily  rich. 
The  inflated  price  of  the  bountiful  products  of  the  rich 
surrounding  fields  had  the  baneful  effect  of  fostering 
the  change.  The  hideous  deformity  of  war  is  ofttimes 
eclipsed  by  the  spirit  of  selfishness.  Still,  bad  as  war  is, 
it  sometimes  presents  a  whimsical  phase,  as  in  the  case 
of  Jamie  Nicol.  Jamie,  though  a  carpenter  and  maker 
of  the  best  saddle-tree  in  all  that  equestrian  country, 
was  not  overladen  with  brains.  Jamie  had  heard  the 
good  King  George  III  panegyrized  at  the  cross  of  the 
royal  and  loyal  burgh  of  ^Haddington  by  the  magistrates 
on  the  4th  of  June,  the  birthday  of  that  king  of  pious 
memory,  which  use  and  wont  had  molded  into  a  duty. 
To  witness  this  annual  solemnity  the  lieges  were  duly 
summoned  by  the  town  band,  consisting  of  bagpipes 
and  a  drum.  Jamie  never  failed  of  this  annual  treat  of 
seeing  the  wine  when  it  was  red  gurgling  down  the 
throats  of  the  chosen  few  to  the  health  of  the  great 

28 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES.  29 

king,  and  the  eloquence  of  this  occasion  aroused  his 
patriotic  feelings  to  such  a  degree  that  he  became 
military  mad  on  the  spot. 

"  Nae  doot,"  said  Jamie,  "  but  the  guid  king's  illness 
is  a'  owing  tae  sae  mony  o'  his  folk  being  just  like 
masel',"  and  added :  "  Frae  this  time  forth  I'll  serve 
my  king  and  country."  But  it  was  well  known  among 
his  neighbors  that  Jamie,  like  his  namesake  king  of  old, 
preferred  the  sword  in  the  scabbard  to  the  same  weapon 
drawn,  and  this  was  made  manifest  by  his  enlisting  in 
the  local  militia,  whose  ready  commissary  rigged  him 
up  in  such  a  way  as  to  "  scare  his  auld  mither  nearly 
oot  o'  her  wits  "  when  he  "cam  hame  tae  his  four  hours." 
The  gibes  of  his  risible  friends  were  chiefly  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  unknown  tailor  who  made  his  red  coat. 
Jamie's  military  career  was  abbreviated  by  a  serio-comic 
incident..  He  appeared,  as  instructed,  to  drill  on  the 
Haugh  nearly  opposite  to  his  own  cottage,  the  Tyne, 
which  is  deep  at  that  part,  running  between.  In  mili- 
tary parlance,  the  place  for  raw  recruits  is  the  awkward 
squad,  the  drilling  of  which  fell  to  Peter  Faulkener,  an 
old  soldier  of  the  American  war,  and  an  old  rival  of 
Jamie  in  business,  nicknamed  "  The  Pack,"  from  his 
having,  a  few  years  before,  sold  portable  goods  round 
the  country.  Jamie  was  greatly  mortified  at  the  fact 
of  being  under  the  control  of  a  man  he  utterly  despised, 
and,  on  imparting  the  news  to  his  mother,  she  trembled 
in  the  fear  of  a  collision.  On  the  second  day's  drill 
Jamie  had  forgotten  part  of  his  previous  day's  instruc- 
tion, and  the  small  cane  of  Peter  came  in  contact  with 
Jamie's  knuckles.  "  Damn  ye,  sir  !  "  said  Jamie,  throw- 
ing down  his  musket ;  "dae  ye  think  I  could  pit  up  wi' 


30  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

sic  an  insult  at  the  hands  o'  '  The  Pack?'  "  and  leaped 
into  the  river,  swam  across,  and  like  a  drookit  craw 
astonished  the  auld  body  just  as  she  was  preparing  the 
tatties  an'  the  herrin'  for  dinner.  The  corporal's  guard 
detailed  to  apprehend  the  deserter  having  to  take  the 
bridge,  gave  the  fugitive  time  to  prepare  for  a  siege. 
They  found  the  old  lady  in  tears  and  the  invisible  de- 
linquent fortifying  his  stronghold  inside  of  his  shop. 
The  officer  in  command  demanded  Jamie's  surrender 
"  in  the  king's  name,"  but  found  him  proof  to  all  en- 
treaties. At  length  when  they  threatened  to  tear  down 
the  building,  his  mother,  knowing  his  passion  for  flowers, 
spoke  to  him  through  the  keyhole,  thus:  "  My  man,  Jamie, 
come  awa  oot.  'Gin  ye  stay  there  thae  sodger  bodies 
wull  pu'  doon  the  hoose,  an'  a'  thae  bonny  floor-beds 
that  ye  hae  ta'en  sae  muckle  pains  wi'  will  be  trampit 
on  by  their  unhallowit  feet.  Come  oot,  ma  dear  Jamie, 
for  your  mither's  sake.  They  daur  na'  harm  a  hair  o" 
yer  h'eid."  This  proved  the  successful  battering-ram 
against  Jamie's  castle,  and  out  came  the  garrison,  pla'cing 
itself  at  the  mercy  of  the  conquerors,  and  never  were 
conquerors  more  merciful.  Most  of  the  officers  of  the 
local  militia  were  gentlemen  of  the  neighborhood  who 
had  been  beholden  to  Jamie  for  an  easy  seat  in  the 
saddle  in  hunting. 

Jamie  was  discharged  from  his  Majesty's  service 
with  the  letter  "  D  "  attached  to  the  document  of  his  re- 
lease, which  deprived  him  of  the  privilege  of  doing 
business  in  any  corporate  burgh  of  the  United  King- 
dom of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  which  he  laughed 
at,  as  the  Nungate  was  field  enough  for  him,  particularly 
as  the  renowned  reformer  John  Knox  was  born  in  the 


OF   DAVID    JOHNSTON.  31 

Giffordgate,  within  a  few  doors  of  his  mother's  cottage  ; 
and  that,  with  plenty  of  flowers,  was  glory  enough  for 
Jamie. 

When  my  brother  arrived  he  was  fourteen,  and  in 
order  to  retain  fifteen  pounds  per  annum  in  the  family, 
which,  in  addition  to  a  handsome  legacy  was  left  by 
the  will  of  Mr.  Nisbet  as  what  was  termed  an  appren- 
tice fee  for  seven  years,  Jamie  was  bound  to  our  father 
for  that  term.  I  soon  found  that,  being  the  stronger 
of  the  two  boys,  and  there  not  being  work  enough  for 
both,  I  expressed  a  wish  to  work  in  Edinburgh.  My 
dear  father  was  loth  to  part  with  me,  and  procrasti- 
nated for  eighteen  months ;  at  length,  when  I  arrived  at 
my  fourteenth  year,  I  desired  to  leave  more  emphatic- 
ally, and  steps  were  taken  to  comply  with  my  request. 
George  More,  of  South  Richmond  street,  Edinburgh, 
was  a  second  cousin  of  my  mother's,  with  whom  (Mr. 
M.)  I  was  bound  for  two  years.  Now,  there  never  was 
in  the  galleys,  nor  in  the  West  Indies,  in  the  palmiest 
days  of  human  slavery,  a  human  being  so  infamously 
treated  as  was  the  Edinburgh  journeyman  baker  of  that 
day.  Nor  was  Mr.  More  any  more  cruel  than  his  fel- 
low tradesmen.  It  was  simply  fashionable  to  ostracise 
the  class,  and  I  had  to  share  the  consequences.  My 
father  walked  (as  was  his  wont)  into  town  just  as  I  had 
finished  the  first  year  of  my  apprenticeship,  and  I  can 
never  forget  the  aspect  of  that  tall,  handsome  figure 
gazing  with  astonishment  down  on  his  poor,  crippled, 
stunted,  emaciated  offspring.  That  was  the  closing 
scene  of  my  apprenticeship.  That  year's  work  made 
me  the  dwarf  of  a  shapely  family.  Pride,  with  twelve 
months'  manipulation,  assisted  in  half  straightening  my 


32  AUTOBIOGBAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

fivey  limbs,  so  that  in  time  I  escaped  the  finger  of  scorn 
pointed  by  my  old  schoolfellows  at  my  ungainly  shape. 
The  reader  may  be  informed  that  the  principal 
cause  of  this  distorting  influence  was  (I  speak  of  the 
past)  to  be  found  in  the  mode  of  carrying  the  bread  to 
the  customers,  which  was  in  oblong  boards  bound 
with  iron,  so  dangerous  to  pedestrians  that  a  fine  was 
imposed  on  any  one  so  laden  using  the  foot  sidewalk. 
Several  events  of  importance  transpired  during  1817. 
The  return  of  the  426  regiment  from  Waterloo,  their 
entrance  into  the  capital  of  their  country  after  two 
years'  detention  in  England,  to  be  reviewed  by  the 
Prince  Regent,  was  an  ovation  to  be  remembered :  the 
exposure  of  the  Regalia  of  Scotland,  which  had  been 
by  consent  concealed  from  the  public  view  since  the 
union  of  the  two  kingdoms  up  to  this  date ;  the  laying 
of  the  foundation  of  the  Regent  Bridge  by  Prince 
Leopold ;  the  building  of  the  new  jail  on  Calton  Hill, 
and  the  death  of  Princess  Charlotte,  daughter  of  George 
IV,  and  his  ill-used  Queen  Caroline.  The  death  of  this 
princess  caused  a  deep  and  lasting  melancholy  to  the 
English  people,  by  whom  she  was  beloved  dearly.  She 
was  married  to  Prince  Leopold,  who  became  afterward 
King  of  Belgium  and  subsequently  married  a  daughter 
of  Louis  Philippe  of  France. 


CHAPTER   VI. 


"  Oh  !  wad  some  power  the  giftie  gie  us 
Tae  see  oursels  as  ithers  see  us." 

MY  love  of  home,  placed  in  juxtaposition  with  my 
restless  desire  to  leave  it,  would  appear  to  those 
unacquainted  with  the  character  of  the  Scottish  people 
to  savor  of  inconsistency.  The  migratory  spirit  of  the 
Scotch  is  not  altogether  an  optional  matter  with  the 
individual.  There  is  a  sentiment  pervading  the  home 
atmosphere  which  largely  tends  to  prompt  or  interfere 
with  his  initiatory  steps  on  the  threshold  of  life,  which 
is  more  powerful  than  his  own  will.  A  boy  can  bravely 
stand  the  buffets  of  a  cold  outside  world,  but  to  be 
twitted  *by  his  schoolmates  with  being  "  tied  to  his 
mither's  apron-strings "  is  more  than  he  can  bear. 
During  the  harvest  of  1817  I  assisted  Mr.  Bryson  of 
Aberlady,  and  while  there  it  was  discovered  that  the 
symptoms  of  a  fatal  disease  were  sapping  the  founda- 
tions of  my  brother's  health,  which  Dr.  Maitland 
declared  to  be  a  virulent  type  of  consumption,  of  which 
he  died  in  November  of  that  year.  Notwithstanding 
the  death  of  my  brother,  an  evil  which  clearly  made  it 
my  duty  to  stay  and  assist  my  parents,  I  blush  to  say 
that  previous  to  leaving  Aberlady  I  had  engaged  to 
work  for  Andrew  Robertson,  of  Portobello,  which  en- 
gagement nothing  could  dissuade  me  from  fulfilling-— 
3  33 


34  AUTOBIOGKAPHICAL   BEMINISCEKCES 

conduct  which  I  never  can  think  of  without  pain.  My 
father  pardoned  this  hardheartedness,  but  I  cannot 
pardon  myself.  And  now  I  leave  my  lovely  native 
spot  again,  of  which,  in  singing  in  its  praise,  I  have 
been  accused  of  partiality.  I  have  said,  and  lovingly 
sang  in  ecstacy,  that 

"  Atween  the  Bass  and  Lammerlaw, 
Coldingham  Muir  and  Prestonshaw, 

Auld  Scotia's  garden  lies; 
In  a'  that  ornaments  the  ground, 
A  lovelier  spot  can  ne'er  be  found 

Beneath  the  arching  skies." 

In  order  to  prove  this,  let  the  reader  accompany  me 
to  an  eminence  overlooking  East  Lothian,  and  see  for 
himself  whether  there  be  exaggeration  in  the  statement. 
Lammerlaw  is  the  most  elevated  point  of  the  Lam- 
mermuir  range  of  hills,  which  runs  from  the  east  in 
Berwickshire  to  join  the  Lowthers  on  the  west,  form- 
ing a  fine  protecting  southern  boundary  to  the  rich 
Lothian  land  lying  to  the  north,  between  this  range 
and  the  Firth  of  Forth.  Trace  the  course  of  that 
little  stream,  and  listen  to  its  self-important  clatter 
among  the  stones  in  its  descent  to  the  bonny  braes  o' 
Danskin !  And  see  it  now,  after  meandering  round 
the  hill  foot,  and  receiving  the  embraces  of  the  mount- 
ain tributaries.  Its  channel  widens  and  deepens  as  it 
laughs  in  its  new  born  pride,  as  much  as  to  say,  "Grow- 
ing at  this  rate  in  my  course,  I  shall  be  able  to  drive  a 
mill  when  I  come  to  the  place  where  a  mill  may  be 
wanted."  Now  it  has  hidden  itself  among  that  splendid 
foliage,  it  beautifies  the  scene  of  Yester,  the  seat  of  the 
Marquis  of  Tweeddale,  where  the  beautiful  Lady  Mar- 


OF    DAVID    JOHNSTON.  35 

garet  Hay,  the  present  Duchess  of  Wellington,  was 
born.  The  mills  of  Gifford  are  beholden  to  this  bur- 
nie,  which  was  born  under  your  feet,  but  which  now  is 
dignified  by  the  name  of  the  river  Tyne.  Now  it  ca's 
the  'wauk  mill,'  and  -plays  aboot  the  rocks  of 
Eagles  Cairnie,  owned  and  occupied  by  Colonel  Stuart, 
said  to  be  the  only  remaining  scion  of  the  royal  fam- 
ily of  that  name.  He  lost  both  arms  at  Waterloo. 
Notwithstanding  this  physical  defect,  he  was  the  finest 
skater  on  the  Tyne.  It-  was  a  treat  to  see  this  tall, 
straight,  armless  figure  amusing  himself  on  the  ice. 
Tyne  now  ornaments  the  grounds  of  Ledington,  now 
called  Lennox  Love,  where  Gilbert  Burns  was  land 
steward.  He  lived  for  many  years,  and  died  at  that 
delightful  spot  called  Grant's  braes,  situated  on  a  high 
bank,  overlooking  the  fine  Policy  of  General  Houston,  of 
Clerkington,  on  the  opposite  bank  of  Tyne.  Lennox 
Love,  on  the  east  bank,  is  the  property  of  Lord  Blan- 
tyre.  We  have  traced  the  Tyne  from  its  source  in  the 
Lammermuir  doon  to  where  I  first  saw  and  paddled  in 
it,  where  its  pranks  have  ofttimes  put  the  country- 
side in  fear ;  on  one  occasion,  it  rose  to  an  extraordi- 
narily great  height,  threatening  danger  to  the  town, 
which  was  timely  relieved  by  the  stone  wall  round  the 
Policy  of  Amesfield  Park  giving  way. 

The  estates  which  it  waters  below  Haddington  are 
beautiful  and  historically  interesting,  which  in  descrip- 
tion seems  to  defy  exaggeration.  Amesfield,  the  seat 
of  Francis  Charteris,  Lord  Elcho  ;  Stevenston,  the  seat 
of  Sir  John  Sinclair;  Biel,  the  bonny  banks  o'  Biel,  the 
property  of  the  Nisbets  ;  the  estate  of  Bienston, 
Hailes  Castle,  the  Hepburn  property,  where  Queen 


36  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

Mary  staid  (I  won't  say  slept),  over  night  on  her 
unhappy  way  to  Dunbar  Castle,  which  was  the  parting 
scene  of  that  ill-fated  lady  from  her  native  Scotland. 
Just  below  Hailes  is  the  pretty  village  of  Linton  and 
Linton  Linn,  "where  a*  the  de'ils  in  hell  fell  in." 
Here  is  the  model  farm  of  Phantasy,  where  the  cele- 
brated Sir  John  Rennie,  who  built  the  iron  bridge 
across  the  Thames  at  Southwark  and  new  London 
bridge,  was  born,  and  as  we  approach  the  confluence  of 
the  sweet  stream  with  the  larger  volume  of  the  Firth, 
we  point  out  the  wee  bit  shopie  wherein  John  Rennie 
served  his  apprenticeship.  Nor  would  it  be  respectful 
to  the  Earl  of  Haddington,  to  leave  the  delightful  vil- 
lage of  Tyningham,  without  viewing  his  holly  hedges, 
on  which  he  prides  himself  so  much,  also  his  fine  estate, 
his  noble  mansion,  and  the  aspect  of  his  stately  grounds. 
As  the  village  belle  on  her  first  visit  to  a  city  marvels 
at  the  scant  deference  paid  to  her,  so  the  identity  of  a 
cheering  stream  is  lost  in  wider  waters.  Pray  do  not 
quit  your  altitude  before  justice  is  done  to  the  grand 
panoramic  view  before  you. 

On  beauty  artists  love  to  dwell, 
To  them  a  landscape  brings  a  spell, 

A  bliss  denied  to  ithers, 
Except  the  poet  drinking  in 
The  tints  o'  a'  that  make  a  scene; 

Nature  made  them  brithers. 

For  guid  sake  assume  the  quality  o'  ane  o*  the 
brithers  if  ye  hae  it  not,  and  do  not  descend  the  hill 
with  an  idea  that  the  beauty  of  East  Lothian  is  con- 
fined to  the  course  of  the  Tyne,  bonny  as  it  is.  Look 
east,  where  your  view  is  lost  in  the  German  ocean,  but 


OF    DAVID   JOHNSTON.  37 

do  not  overlook  intervening  points.  Notice  that  big  lone 
hill,  sleeping  in  the  rich  valley  in  the  foreground.  That 
is  Traprainlaw,  which  is  supposed  to  contain  gold 
enough  to  enrich  the  county,  but  which  is  left  by  the 
owner  in  its  natural  aspect  to  feed  his  sheep  by  its  vel- 
vety covering,  painting  their  little  hoofs  into  tints  of 
the  supposed  metallic  substance  below.  In  that  true 
spirit  of  Scotch  philosophy,  he  waits  the  wave  of  Cal- 
ifornian  enterprise  to  howk  and  open  up  his  treasure ; 
a  thing  likely  in  the  near  future,  for  in  Lord  Hopetoun 
he  has  a  brave  prospecting  pioneer  within  three  miles 
of  him.  It  is  supposed  that  his  Lordship  opened  up 
the  Garleton  hills  in  search  of  the  precious  metal,  and 
found,  instead,  a  richer  mine  of  iron  of  the  finest  qual- 
ity. In  the  middle  distance  you  have  the  picturesque 
grounds  of  Belhaven,  and  the  rugged  coast  of  Dunbar 
with  its  burgh,  and  the  ruins  of  its  historical  castle, 
where  Black  Agnes  defied  the  Montague,  also  the  man- 
sion and  grounds  of  the  Earl  of  Lauderdale.  A  little 
to  the  east  lies  the  battle  ground  whereon  Cromwell 
secured,  by  the  defeat  of  Leslie,  the  government  of 
Scotland,  and  blessed  by  relieving  it  for  some  eight 
years  of  the  bungling  misgovernment  of  the  Stuarts. 
Still  further  east,  the  romantic  ravine,  spanned  by  the 
Peasbrig,  Coldingham,  Eyemouth,  and  St.  Abb's  Head. 
To  the  north,  we  have  a  richer  view  still.  The  whole 
course  of  the  Tyne,  and  estates  it  waters,  besides  those 
seats  of  beauty  placed  beyond  its  reach,  such  as  Gos- 
ford  (Earl  of  Wemyss),  Lufness,  Balancecrief  (Lord 
Elibank),  that  of  Sir  James  Sutie,  and  Balfour  of 
Whitingham  ;  Stuart,  of  Alderston  ;  Sir  Hugh  Dal- 
rymple,  North  Berwick,  and  many  others  all  spread  out 


38  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

like  a  richly  variegated  carpet  fringed  on  the  north  by 
that  noble  estuary  the  Firth  of  Forth,  on  a  promon- 
tory, on  which  stand  the  ruins  of  Tantallon  Castle,  the 
ancient  seat  of  the  Douglass,  which  Marmion  immor- 
talized. Two  miles  out  in  the  Firth  from  this  point  is 
the  Bass  Rock,  the  last  stronghold  of  the  Stuarts  ;  some 
fifteen  miles  further  out  the  island  of  May.  The  west- 
ern view  embraces  the  estate  of  Fletcher,  of  Saltoun 
Hall,  the  bonny  braes  o'  Branxholm,  the  estates  of 
Seaton,  of  Caddell  of  Cockenzie,  of  Ormiston,  and 
others,  up  to  the  boundary  line  west  of  Preston  Grange, 
taking  in  the  continued  line  of  thriving  villages  along 
the  coast,  make  up  a  landscape  which,  when  once  seen, 
never  can  be  forgotten.  From  Gullen  on  the  east,  to 
Prestonpans  on  the  west,  presents  one  of  the  most 
thriving  scenes  of  industry  to  be  found  anywhere.  I 
cannot  bear  to  leave  East  Lothian  without  a  parting 
word  on  the  unfortunate  Mary,  whose  treatment  at  the 
Court  of  Elizabeth  forms  one  of  the  most  heartless 
tragedies  on  record. 

Behold  the  lovely  Mary,  Scotland's  queen  ! 
In  ectasy  of  grief,  on  Hepburn  Lien 
That  shelter  seek,  within  Haile's  castle  towers, 
Denied  her  by  the  legislative  powers. 

Thence,  evil  tidings  of  her  adverse  war, 
In  poignant  anguish,  drove  her  to  Dunbar, 
Without  a  friend  to  counsel  or  protect 
Her  sacred  person  from  the  fearful  wreck. 

Her  self-reliance  fails.     She  now  must  yield, 
And  place  herself  behind  a  Southern  shield. 
Nor  had  the  suppliant  Mary  long  to  wait  — 
The  white-horse  rider  's  ready  at  the  gate. 


OF   DA.VID   JOHNSTOJST.  39 

Willing  help  th'  imperious  Tudor  gave, 
Precursing  durance  and  a  bloody  grave. 
To  England's  standing  on  the  scroll  of  fame, 
The  death  of  Mary  brings  the  blush  of  shame.! 

The  reader  will  excuse  an  anecdote  on  taking  leave 
of  the  Tyne.  On  crossing  from  school  one  sunny  day, 
over  the  Nungate  brig,  as  was  my  wont,  to  see  the  bon- 
nie  troots  gamboling  in  the  clear  stream,  I  clambered  to 
the  cape-stane,  and  there  I  saw  an  unco  sight — a  bairn 
about  four  years  of  age,  lying  on  its  back,  in  its  last 
efforts  to  retain  the  precious  spark,  at  the  bottom  of  the 
river.  I  ran,  as  prompted,  to  the  rescue,  and  succeeded 
in  restoring  the  child  to  the  embrace  of  the  anxious 
parents.  This  same  child  was  doomed,  in  one  short  half 
year,  to  lose  its  life  by  violence.  On  the  morning  of  a 
winter  day,  the  poor  little  fellow,  descending  the  inclined 
plane  leading  from  the  bridge,  slipped  on  the  ice,  and 
fell  in  front  of  one  of  the.  wheels  of  a  laden  cart,  and 
was  killed  on  the  spot. 


CHAPTER   VII. 


"  The  sea  !   the  sea  !   the  open  sea  ! 

I  am  where  I  would  ever  be, 
With  its  blue  above  and  its  t>lue  below." 

DURING  the  pleasant  year  I  spent  with  Mr.  Ro- 
bertson, in  the  lively  village  of  Portobello,  the 
country  was  horror-stricken  by  the  expose"  of  the  ghoul- 
ish traffic  of  murdering  innocent  persons  to  supply  food 
for  the  dissecting  scalpel,  in  which  Burke  and  Hare 
played  prominent  parts  in  Edinburgh,  the  scene  of 
Burke's  expiation  on  the  scaffold  for  the  crime,  while 
Hare,  turning  King's  evidence,  escaped  the  gallows,  to 
suffer  a  living  death  in  Canada. 

The  tie  of  consanguinity  is  not  easily  broken  in 
Scotland.  A  cousin,  with  that  people,  must  be  a  good 
many  times  removed  before  he  can  be  allowed  to  slide 
into  the  ocean  which  is  considered  common  to  human- 
ity. Taking  a  few  days  of  recreation  at  home,  I  soon 
found  employment  with  Alexander  Glen,  Castle  street, 
Edinburgh,  a  cousin  o'  my  father's  o'  the  German  type. 
There's  no  knowing  how  far  the  elastic  tie  was  stretched 
—  it  was  still  unbroken  ;  and  it  was  only  necessary  to 
mention  the  name  of  John  Johnston  to  find  a  place  in 
his  thriving  business.  Mr.  Glen's  business  lay  among 
the  £lite  of  the  New  Town,  among  whom  was  Sir  Wal- 
ter Scott,  whose  mansion  was  on  the  north  section  of 

40 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES.  41 

the  same  street,  at  which  it  became  my  duty  to  call 
daily,  to  supply  his  family  with  the  staff  of  life.  On 
one  occasion  I  essayed  (as  was  usual)  to  approach  the 
larder  for  the  purpose  of  relieving  myself  of  my  burthen 
of  six  quartern  loaves,  at  a  time  when  all  the  servants 
were  engaged  up  stairs.  Sir  Walter's  favorite  hound, 
Maida,  disputed  my  approach,  and,  on  attempting  to 
elude  his  vigilance,  he  placed  my  helpless  arm  between 
his  potent  jaws,  and  there  held  me  in  durance  till  the 
cook  made  her  appearance  and  indulged  in  a  hearty 
laugh  at  my  expense,  and  then  Maida  took  his  matted 
place  on  the  landing  of  the  kitchen  stairs,  his  sentry- 
box  when  on  guard.  The  charm  of  that  classic  precinct 
passed  away  at  the  demise  of  that  genial  soul,  whose 
daily  steps,  in  wonted  exercise,  made  sacred  the  very 
stones  on  which  he  trod,  and  which  is  now  adorned  by 
the  Gothic  taste  of  Kemp,  in  that  matchless  monu- 
ment in  memory  of  the  immortal  Scott. 

In  the'  meantime  my  half-brother,  Alexander,  after 
many  years'  service  in  the  Royal  artillery,  had  distin- 
guished himself  at  the  taking  of  the  island  of  Ceylon 
from  the  Dutch.  While  as  flag  sergeant,  being  en- 
gaged in  special  service,  the  command  of  the  detach- 
ment fell  to  him  by  the  fall  in  battle  of  the  commis- 
sioned officers  intrusted  with  the  expedition,  the  object 
of  which,  requiring  some  strategic  delicacy,  was  attained 
to  the  satisfaction  of  the  officer  in  command,  a  report 
of  which  was,  by  his  orders,  transmitted  to  the  com- 
mander-in-chief,  His  Grace  the  Duke  of  Wellington, 
who  was  pleased  to  offer  Alexander,  as  a  mark  of  his 
approval,  his  choice  of  a  commission  in  the  Royal 
artillery,  or  a  barrack  sergeantcy,  or  a  master  gunner- 


42        AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  REMINISCENCES 

ship  in  any  one  of  our  home  strongholds.  Not  relishing 
the  atmosphere  of  an  officer's  mess  to  one  who  has 
risen  from  the  ranks,  he  had  the  good  sense  to  choose 
the  lesser  of  the  twin  favors.  The  Iron  Duke  at  that 
time  held  the  office  of  master-gunner  of  the  ordnance. 
The  master-gunnership  of  Leith  fort  was  the  first  fruits  of 
the  Duke's  favors,  and  this  was  rendered  the  more  agree- 
able by  the  residence  in  that  fort  of  his  brother-in-law, 
David  Davidson,  and  his  delightful  family.  This  fort 
is  advantageously  situated  on  the  rising  ground  west  of 
North  Leith,  near  the  fishing  village  of  Newhaven,  com- 
manding a  fine  extensive  view  of  the  busy  Firth,  the 
Isle  of  Inchkeith  and  the  Kingdom  o'  Fife.  H.  M. 
S.  Ramilies,  eighty-four  guns,  then  guarded  the  com- 
merce of  the  northern  capital,  the  flitting  visits  to  and 
from  Stirling  of  the  first  of  the  forthcoming  numerous 
family  of  steamers  which  had  the  courage  to  risk  a 
taste  of  the  stormy  Firth,  added  another  subject  of  in- 
terest. Here,  in  a  visit  of  three  weeks  at  this  bewitch- 
ing spot,  my  unconquerable  passion  for  the  sea  was 
engendered,  a  passion  which  nothing  short  of  sea-sick- 
ness could  subdue. 

After  a  lapse  of  a  few  years  from  this  visit,  while 
working  with  Mr.  Glen,  I  engaged  to  work  with  a  Mr. 
Wright,  of  the  Coalhill,  Leith,  for  no  other  reason  than 
to  be  near  the  shipping.  This  step  I  soon  regretted, 
not  only  on  account  of  the  good  feeling  existing  be- 
tween Mr.  Glen  and  myself,  but  the  influence  of  dis- 
paragement to  the  coarse  nature  of  Mr.  W.  as  com- 
pared to  Mr.  Glen. 

The  only  redeeming  feature  of  the  change  was  the 
companionship  of  my  fellow-workman,  David  Bonner 


OF    DAVID   JOHNSTON".  43 

who,  as  far  as  one  can  judge  for  themselves,  was  the 
very  counterpart  of  the  subscriber.  He  had  the  advan- 
tage of  age  (two  years),  of  education,  and  in  wild  vaga- 
ries. It  required  about  two  weeks  to  combine  our  aerial 
architectural  capacities  so  as  to  enable  us  to  launch  out 
in  the  business  of  castle  building.  Each  held  the  other 
in  the  highest  estimation  for  practical  wisdom,  and 
whatsoever  was  suggested  by  the  one  was  clinched  by 
the  other  as  the  one  thing  needful.  In  the  course  of 
our  cogitations  we  at  length  resolved  to  see  the  world ; 
that  the  sea  being  the  highway  of  nations,  we  should 
take  that  road ;  that  inasmuch  as  it  was  impossible  to 
get  shipped  in  Leith,  we  should  start  for  Newcastle-on- 
Tyne  for  that  purpose ;  that  it  would  be  more  agreeable 
to  go  the  one  hundred  miles  by  water  than  by  land ; 
that  a  boat  lying  keel  uppermost  at  Hillesfield  may  be 
sold  for  ten  shillings ;  that  we  buy  said  boat  and  stick 
a  pole  in  her  to  which  we  can  fasten  a  biscuit  bag  for  a 
sail.  Our  prospective  voyage  was  designed  to  be  one 
of  pleasure.  Old  Boreas  was  to  put  on  his  best  behav- 
ior. We  were  to  be  very  careful  never  to  sail  so  far 
from  the  land  that  we  could  not,  if  necessity  required 
it,  just  pull  our  bit  boatie  ashore  and  take  our  snooze 
on  dry  land,  and  await  the  morning  breeze  from  the 
north  to  help  us  on  our  journey.  We  gave  up  our  situ- 
ations with  Mr.  Wright,  and  found  our  purchase  money 
for  the  boat  entirely  lost,  inasmuch  as  it  proved  beyond 
our  strength  to  move  her,  and  got  laughed  to  scorn  on 
asking  assistance  from  practical  men.  "Why,"  they 
said,  "that  old  hulk  has  been  so  long  a  stranger  to  salt 
water  that  on  an  attempt  to  re-launch  her  she  would 
fall  to  pieces."  Still  so  impatient  were  we  for  the  sea 


44  AUTOBIOGKAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

that  we  hired  a  boat  for  our  experimental  trip  to  the 
island  of  Inchkeith.  Weather  fine  and  tide  serving, 
the  passage  to  the  island  was  delightful,  and  to  add  to 
our  pleasure  while  on  the  island  a  splendid  frigate 
passed  so  close  to  us  as  to  enable  us  to  perceive  every 
movement  of  the  busy  crew  upon  her  deck.  Up  to 
that  period  in  my  life  I  had  never  witnessed  anything 
so  bewitchingly  fascinating  as  that  moving  picture. 
My  wild,  unthinking  brain  and  heart  followed  in  her 
wake.  And  now  the  wind,  freshening  and  veering  to 
the  southwest,  together  with  the  adverse  tide,  admon- 
ished us  to  the  oar.  The  closing  scene  of  that  voyage 
was  made  to  stand  in  bitter  contrast  with  that  of  the 
early  day.  Three  hours'  hard  pulling  began  to  convince 
us  that  wind  and  tide  ahead  were  too  much  for  our  un- 
skillful seamanship,  and  might  lead  to  our  undoing. 
The  schemes  of  the  voyage  to  Newcastle  were  borne  by 
that  breeze  to  the  German  ocean,  never  more  to  be 
dreamed  of  again.  Our  soft,  unsailor-like  hands  became 
crowded  with  egg-like  blisters,  and  still  a  hard  mile  to 
row,  and  the  clouds  of  night  rapidly  descending.  At 
dusk  we  reached  the  harbor  and  found  the  captain  in  a 
surly  mood,  pacing  the  deck  of  his  little  Thurso  sloop, 
from  whom  we  hired  the  boat.  He  met  us  with  a 
vocabulary  which  I  have  since  learned  presented  itself 
in  the  shape  of  much  approved  maritime  oaths.  I  con- 
fess to  having  understood  one  of  his  expressions  when 
he  sputtered  out  in  Scandinavian  idiom  :  "  I  hope  to  go 

to somewhere  if  I  ever  lend  my  boat  to  d d 

land  lubbers  again."  Now  this  was  simply  an  outburst 
of  anger  brewed  an  hour  ago  in  the  supposition  that 
his  yawl  had  gone  to  the  locker  of  Davy  Jones.  No 


OF   DAVID   JOHNSTON".  45 

matter  what  had  become  o'  the  two  idiots  who  tempted 
him  with  their  halfcrown  for  a  bit  sail  in  the  Firth. 
He  thought,  in  his  broad  Christian  charity,  that  as  far 
as  the  boys  were  concerned  they  might  as  well  be  out 
of  the  way. 

There  are  actions  during  the  spring-time  of  life 
which  will  shrink  from  the  scrutiny  of  one's  riper  years. 
Exemption  from  this  test,  I  believe,  is  confined  to  the 
few.  Still  there  may  be  such  whose  blunders  figure  as 
an  exception  to  the  rule  of  an  otherwise  fairly  spent 
morning  of  life.  In  my  own  retrospect  I  find,  alas !  an 
entire  reversal  in  the  order  of  things.  I  am  humiliated 
to  find  blundering  unmistakably  the  rule  and  wise 
action  the  exception.  Could  there  be  a  better  speci- 
men found  than  the  present  to  show  to  what  folly 
youth  can  descend  when  left  untrammeled?  Behold 
two  fellows,  respectively  17  and  15  years  old,  brooding 
over  their  sunk  wealth  in  the  shape  of  (not  an  ele- 
phant, but)  a  cast-off  yawl  as  inert  as  the  Bass  Rock 
to  their  appliances  within  reach. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


"  Of  all  the  passions  that  possess  mankind 
The  love  of  novelty  rules  most  the  mind; 
In  search  of  this  from  realm  to  realm  we  roam, 
Our  fleets  come  fraught  with  every  folly  home." 

NOTHING  daunted,  we  started  on  our  journey  in 
rainy  weather.  Our  wealth  consisted  of  nine 
shillings  sterling  and  a  bundle  of  clothing  each,  which, 
although  a  little  heavy  at  starting,  we  found  by  the 
time  we  had  reached  North  Shields,  we  had  none  too 
much.  For  obvious  reasons  we  took  the  lower  road, 
leaving  Haddington  considerably  to  the  south.  In  an 
increasing' storm  of  wind  and  rain  we  found  shelter  in  a 
miserable  lodging-house  in  the  town  of  North  Berwick, 
for  which  we  paid  fourpence  each.  After  a  vain 
attempt  to  dry  ourselves  at  the  meager  fire,  we  tumbled 
into  our  bed-bunk,  and  slept  soundly  on  a  tick  filled 
with  chaff.  On  the  following  morning  we  found  the 
storm  had  increased  to  a  hurricane  and  all  the  town  in 
an  uproar,  with  cries  of  "  A  wreck,  a  wreck !  A  ship 
is  on  the  rocks,  make  haste  to  save." 

Our  frugal  meal  of  bread  and  milk  we  left 
untouched  and  hastened  to  the  harbor,  which  we 
reached  just  in  time  to  see,  in  the  midst  of  the  howling 
storm,  a  dismasted  brig  in  a  most  fearful  condition. 
The  hands  seemed  almost  helplessly  benumbed.  The 

46 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES.  47 

rigging,  which  they  had  failed  to  cut  adrift,  entangled 
the  deck,  so  as  to  impede  the  progress  of  the  work 
necessary  to  their  salvation.  But  the  master  knew  his 
craft  and  was  well  acquainted  with  the  dangerous 
nature  of  the  coast,  and  by  dint  of  skill  and  straining; 
exertion,  kept  clear  of  the  rocks,  to  find  a  haven  of 
safety.  Moodily  we  retraced  our  steps  to  our  four- 
penny  hotel,  nor  was  the  silence  broken  until  our  frugal 
fast-breaking  meal  was  nearly  discussed,  when  the 
elder  of  the  two  Dauvids,  returning  to  his  normal  con- 
dition, opened  his  mouth  and  said,  "  Aye,  man, 
Dauvid,  d'ye  ken  what  I  was  thinking  aboot?"  "  Na,"" 
said  the  younger  sage,  "  I  dinna  ken  what  ye  was  think- 
ing aboot,  but  I  ken  what  I  was  thinking  aboot." 
"  Man,"  said  the  elder,  "  I  was  just  thinking  what  a 
figure  oor  ship  Eliza  (the  name  we  had  given  our  Hilles- 
field  craft)  would  have  cut  in  siccan  a  storm  as  this ; 
tell  me  your  thoughts."  I  said  that  the  scene  at  the 
harbor  had  bewildered  my  thoughts.  Had  we  suc- 
ceeded in  launching  the  Eliza  this  very  storm  would 
have  settled  our  career  on  this  earth.  As  it  is,  I  think 
we  ought  to  look  upon  this  as  a  Providential  warning 
for  the  future. 

Dauvid  seemed  hardly  prepared  for  the  depth  of 
this  philosophy,  coming  from  one  who  had  up  to  this 
period  fallen  so  readily  into  all  his  wild  vagaries,  and 
was  evidently  touched.  But  our  walk  had  made  keen 
our  appetites.  Wet  as  we  were,  our  twa  penny  baps 
frae  Provost  Brodie's,  and  twa  pence  worth  of  sweet 
milk,  was  freely  and  thankfully  discussed,  and  we 
shouldered  our  bundles  for  Dunbar.  The  storm  had 
moderated,  but  still  it  rained,  and  heavy  roads  impeded 


48  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

our  progress,  so  that  we  arrived  late  and  had  to  pay 
one  shilling  for  our  bed,  thereby  augmenting  the 
monetary  uneasiness  which  was  daily  fastening  on  our 
troubled  spirits.  Still  the  lions  of  Dunbar  were  not 
overlooked :  the  harbor,  the  gift  of  Cromwell,  and 
the  castle  which,  in  the  absence  of  her  husband,  Black 
Agnes  defended  against  Montague.  This  same  Dun- 
bar  is  famous  in  history.  Here,  it  may  be  said,  the 
keys  of  Scotland  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  victorious 
Cromwell  by  the  defeat  of  Leslie.  Here  Mary  took 
her  farewell  of  power  and  Scotland,  and  here  Sir  John 
Cope  landed  with  his  army  from  the  north  to  oppose 
the  Chevalier,  but  failed  to  succeed.  On  our  way  to 
JBerwick-on-Tweed  we  pass  the  house  from  the  window 
of  which  Cromwell  sat  watching  the  movements  of  his 
adversary.  Leslie  had  taken  up  a  position  which  chal- 
lenged the  admiration  of  Cromwell,  who  deemed  it 
unassailable.  The  flower  of  the  Scottish  nobility  were 
under  Leslie.  They  became  impatient  of  control  and 
inactivity.  Leslie,  in  an  evil  hour,  yielded  to  their 
importunities,  which  Cromwell  perceiving,  exclaimed  in 
his  characteristic  vocabulary,  "  The  Lord  hath  delivered 
them  into  our  hands.  Trust  in  the  Lord  and  keep 
your  powder  dry."  There  is  a  combination  of  circum- 
stances that  go  to  retard  one's  progress  as  a  successful 
pedestrian ;  a  big  bundle,  heavy  roads,  a  gloomy 
atmosphere,  an  empty  stomach,  a  light  purse,  a  bad 
errand,  and  a  seared  conscience ;  and  this  compound 
was  the  only  property  we  possessed  on  this  earth. 
This  was  no  wager-provoking  trot.  A  good  walker 
might  make  Berwick  from  Dunbar  easily,  but  burdened 
as  we  were  we  had  to  avail  ourselves  of  the  hospitality 


OF   DAVID    JOHNSTON".  49 

of  a  kind-hearted  old  farmer,  who  allowed  us  to  sleep 
in  his  barn  on  oat  straw,  for  which  privilege  we  were 
very  grateful,  but  took  the  road  too  early  to  proffer 
our  thanks.  At  an  early  hour  in  the  afternoon  of  our 
fourth  day's  tramp  we  arrived  at  the  town  of  Berwick, 
which,  in  the  language  of  St.  Stephens,  is  distinguished 
by  the  appellation  of  "  our  town  of  Berwick-upon- 
Tweed."  In  ancient  times  this  town  was  the  theater 
of  many  a  bloody  fight,  where  Wallace  figured  to 
advantage.  Its  aspect  in  peace  is  beautiful,  its  history 
is  fraught  with  historic  lore.  Here  is  the  conflux  of 
the  classic  Tweed  with  the  German  ocean,  the  river 
being  spanned  by  a  magnificent  bridge.  Our  tour  in 
Northumberland  will  be  theme  enough  for  another 
chapter.  Beloved  Scotland,  farewell. 
4 


CHAPTER  IX. 


Oh!  bonnie  Tweed,  so  glorious  in  thy  sheen, 
Of  all  the  northern  rivers  thou  'rt  the  queen. 
In  ages  yet  to  come  thy  crystal  tide, 
To  beautify  will  flow,  nor  to  divide. 

Nor  will  your  hills  and  gently  sloping  braes 
Lack  those  to  sing  in  anthems  to  thy  praise; 
Each,  shore  with  shore,  in  harmony  combine, 
Eschewing  scenes  that  marked  a  darker  time. 

May  ne'er  again  high-handed  war  prevail 
To  mar  the  beauty  of  thy  fruitful  vale. 
Your  classic  stream  evokes  the  sacred  nine, 
To  bless  your  sons  with  happiness  divine. 

EKE  all  good  mercantile  firms  we  paused  to  take 
stock.  We  chose  the  middle  arch  of  Berwick 
bridge  whereon  to  overhaul  our  exchequer,  and  found 
ourselves  in  possession  of  one  shilling  and  ninepence 
wherewith  to  do  the  hardest  part  of  our  journey,  with- 
out any  budget  to  fall  back  on.  We  were  now  in 
England,  and  though  the  Northumbrian  is  famed  for 
hospitality,  we  began  to  feel  lonely  and  dispirited,  and 
a  keen  sense  of  our  folly  and  wickedness  took  posses- 
sion of  our  souls.  We  knelt  in  the  mud,  and  prayed  to 
be  forgiven  of  the  giver  of  every  good  gift.  How  could 
we  use  such  good,  kind  parents  as  we  both  had  so 
heartlessly  cruel  ?  But  the  die  was  cast.  The  twin 

50 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL    REMINISCENCES.  51 

necessities  were  upon  us.  Proceed  and  suffer,  or  return 
to  disgrace.  By  the  time  we  reached  Alnwick  our 
last  penny  had  found  its  way  into  unknown  coffers,  so 
that  in  the  future  the  distension  of  our  stomachs  had 
to  depend  upon  corresponding  shrinkage  of  our  ward- 
robe. The  sale  of  a  shirt  supplied  the  wants  of  Sunday, 
which  we  decently  spent  in  the  ancient  town  of 
Alnwick,  the  noble  and  princely  seat  of  Percy,  Duke  of 
Northumberland.  Recuperated,  both  in  mind  and  body, 
and  weather  improving,  the  old  sea-mania  returned 
with  ten-fold  force.  It  would  never  do  for  us  to  keep 
the  straight  road  through  Morpeth  to  North  Shields. 
The  thought  of  walking  all  that  distance  without  one 
glance  at  our  darling  element  was  preposterous.  We 
directed  our  steps  eastward  to  the  coast.  The  good  and 
evil  resulting  from  this  idiotic  whim,  were  first,  viewing 
the  beautiful  country  lying  between  Alnwick  and  the 
barren  waste  which  for  many  miles  lines  the  North- 
umbrian shore;  the  chance  of  viewing  the  Coquet 
Island  and  Warkworth  Castle,  the  most  ancient  strong- 
hold of  the  Percys  in  the  early  Plantagenet  and  Tudor 
times,  and  the  endurance  of  the  pangs  of  an  empty 
stomach  for  a  longer  period  than  we  had  hitherto  ex- 
perienced. Our  chosen  path  led  through  a  sandy 
rabbit  warren,  destitute  of  the  semblance  of  humanity. 
About  mid-day  we  spied  a  house,  a  mile  off  in  the 
interior,  to  which  hunger  prompted  us  to  approach 
and  make  known  to  the  lady  of  the  house  our  hapless 
condition.  We  offered  her  a  shirt  for  eighteen  pence, 
half  the  price  in  bread  and  milk.  "  Na,  lads,  I  dunna 
want  your  shirt,  but  thou'lt  get  some  bread  and  milk 
and  welcome,"  was  her  kind  reply,  and  suiting  the 


52  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

action  to  the  word,  placed  before  our  ravenous  vision  a 
large  wooden  platter,  heaped  with  wheaten  and  oaten 
bread,  and  abundance  of  milk,  which  we  devoured  with 
such  a  gusto  as  must  have  astonished  the  kind-hearted 
Samaritan.  With  our  blessing  and  many  thanks  for 
her  hospitable  entertainment,  we  rose  and  departed, 
with  the  blush  of  shame  mantling  on  our  cheek  at  the 
greedy-iike  manner  in  which  we  cleaned  out  her  boun- 
tiful supply.  About  dusk  we  reached  the  harbor  of 
Blythe,  and  the  town  being  on  the  south  bank  of  the 
river,  how  to  get  across  became  a  question  of  some 
moment.  Bridge  there  was  none,  and  the  fare  per 
head  by  boat,  one  penny.  Our  pennies  had  all  de- 
parted to  be  the  slaves  of  others.  We  offered  a  pair 
of  good  braces  to  row  us  over  the  ferry.  The  hoary- 
headed  Charon  laughed  us  to  scorn.  Nothing  but  the 
hard  cash  for  him.  My  companion,  on  exposing  the 
braces  he  wore,  was  reminded  that  he  had  long  worn 
as  brace  buttons  four  farthings,  perforated  to  receive 
the  thread.  "  I  will  take  these  four  farthings,"  said  the 
boatman,  "  and  keep  them  in  remembrance  of  the  pov- 
erty-stricken Scotch,  and  row  you  over  the  ferry."  The 
bargain  struck,  off  came  the  farthings,  pocketing  the 
affront,  and  we  were  in  due  time  safely  landed  on  the 
southern  shore  of  the  river.  Being  a  fair  day  the  town 
was  crowded  with  people  from  the  surrounding  country, 
and  all  the  beds  bespoken.  However,  a  bed  was  by  a 
kind  lady  improvised  on  the  floor  of  her  clean  little 
cottage,  and  on  the  following  morning  with  a  dimin- 
ished bundle,  we  set  out  in  rain  to  finish  our  tedious 
journey  in  quest  of  slavery  on  the  trackless  deep.  We 
arrived  at  the  conflux  of  the  teeming,  busy  Tyne  with 


OF   DAVID   JOHNSTON.  53 

the  German  ocean.  Here,  on  a  high  hill,  stands  the 
celebrated  Tynemouth  Castle,  from  the  beautiful 
esplanade,  of  which  you  have  a  commanding  view  of 
one  of  the  richest  scenes  in  England.  The  thriving 
towns  of  North  and  South  Shields,  the  river,  covered 
with  ships  and  keels  employed  in  coal-carrying  to  all 
parts  of  the  known  world,  together  with  the  coast  view 
as  far  south  as  Flamborough  Head,  embracing  Sunder- 
land,  Whitby,  Scarborough  and  other  busy  marts  of 
trade — a  panorama  well  worth  a  week's  march  to  see. 
Here  we  received  a  lesson  in  economy  which  has 
proved  valuable  to  me  through  life.  In  the  middle  of 
the  road  lay  a  lump  of  good  bread,  covered  with  mud, 
and  nearly  saturated  with  rain,  which  we  carefully 
cleansed  and  nicely  divided,  and  dropped  it  into  our 
respective  internal  membranes,  which  were  writhing  to 
be  employed.  From  that  day  to  this  I  am  pained  to 
see  the  blessing  of  bread  wasted.  This  morsel  was  like 
manna  from  heaven,  sweetened  by  the  need.  Previous 
to  descending  the  hill  we  sat  down  to  take  stock  of  our 
diminishing  store  of  worldly  goods,  and  soon  perceived 
that  my  Sunday  trousers  were  destined  to  depart  from 
their  wonted  usefulness  to  meet  a  more  urgent  exi- 
gency. The  difference  between  buying  and  selling  I 
had  become  pretty  familiar  with,  but  parting  with  that 
garment  for  one  shilling  and  sixpence,  which  had  cost 
seven  shillings,  and  was  very  little  the  worse  for  wearr 
I  confess  gave  me  a  heavy  pang.  But  go  they  must, 
and  they  went.  The  price  of  them  sufficed  to  carry  us 
over  the  first  night  in  North  Shields.  It  will  be  seen 
by  this  humble  narrative  that  all  through  this  wild, 
reckless  breach  of  propriety  our  consequent  self-inflicted 


54  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES. 

condition  was  wonderfully  relieved  by  acts  of  kindness 
on  the  part  of  others,  making  more  poignant  the  sense 
of  shame  for  our  too  palpable  misconduct.  My  nether 
garment  disposed  of,  and  one-third  of  the  proceeds 
thereof  consumed,  we  had  picked  up  another  boy 
who  was  worse  off  than  ourselves.  He  had  neither 
money  nor  clothes,  so  he  came  under  the  shadow  of 
our  wing  and  shared  with  us  all  the  benefits  of  the  firm, 
because  he  was  of  the  same  name  as  myself  (at  least  he 
said  so)  and  on  the  same  scapegrace  errand.  (Misery 
loves  company.)  Providence  now  directed  our  steps  to 
the  door  of  one  of  the  most  angelic  women  on  this 
globe.  It  required  but  one  glance  of  Mrs.  Cookson  to 
read  the  character  of  the  three  scamps  who  stood  on 
her  threshold  in  quest  of  shelter  for  this  drizzly  night. 
"  Only  on  one  condition  can  I  take  you  into  my  house. 
Sit  down  and  write  each  to  your  mother,"  which  we 
did. 


CHAPTER  X. 


The  acme  of  weakness  is  an  accusing  conscience. 

THE  tongue  lashing,  to  which  we  patiently  sub- 
mitted, was  severe  but  true,  and  I  hope  use- 
ful. She  dwelt  on  the  sin  of  such  cruelty,  and  then 
and  there  made  us  sit  down  and  write  home  (she  would 
pay  the  mail)  and  acknowledge  our  faults,  making  this 
step  the  condition  of  her  receiving  us  into  her  cottage 
to  lodge.  This  lady  on  the  following  day  made  a 
fruitless  endeavor  to  dissuade  us  from  a  seafaring  life, 
and  well  she  might ;  for  out  of  a  family  of  six,  four 
sons  and  two  daughters,  that  insatiable  element  had 
swallowed  up  two,  and  those  her  first-born  boys.  Her 
younger  boys  were  also  bound  apprentices  to  the  sea, 
which  to  this  loving  soul  proved  a  fruitful  source  of 
grievous  anxiety,  that  they  likewise  would  in  all  probabil- 
ity be  buried  in  the  deep.  Such,  indeed,  is  the  effect  of 
the  fascination  held  out  by  the  rollicking  Jack  Tar  on 
the  youth  of  the  Northumberland  coast,  and  the  de- 
mands made  upon  it,  that  it  fully  accounts  for  the 
disparity  of  the  number  of  males  as  compared  with 
that  of  females,  there  appearing  in  the  census  of 
that  period  five  to  one  in  favor  of  the  latter.  But 
it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  this  is  the  principal 
nursery  of  the  British  navy,  and  where  will  you  find 

55 


56  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

such  sailors?  Here  you  have  the  bone  and  muscle 
provoked  into  play  by  an  ingenious  device  in  practice 
on  this  coast.  Most  seamen  are  paid  by  the  month. 
Here  they  are  paid  by  the  voyage.  Pride  and  profit 
are  great  incentives  to  speed.  By  this  mode,  the  inter- 
est of  employer  and  employe  are  alike  promoted,  and 
the  government  reaps  the  principal  advantage.  To 
return  to  our  story :  I  am  ashamed  to  say  the  unan- 
swerable eloquence  of  that  estimable  lady  was  lost 
upon  us,  and  seeing  our  resolution  unshaken,  she 
determined  to  exercise  her  disinterested  guardianship 
by  placing  us  under  the  guidance  of  a  worthy  man. 
Emanuel  Walmsley  was  the  owner  of  four  vessels,  all 
hailing  from  North  Shields,  and  employed  in  carrying 
coal  to  London  and  elsewhere,  in  one  of  which  her  two 
sons  were  apprenticed.  Thither  she  carried  us,  and 
were  she  our  mother  an  introduction  could  not  have 
been  couched  in  more  tender  language.  Oh !  the 
priceless  value  of  motherly  love!  The  remembrance 
of  that  woman's  disinterested  kindness  has  proved  a 
balm  to  my  mind  for  three-score  years,  and  during  the 
season  of  my  subsequent  prosperity  I  resolved  to  visit 
and  tangibly  thank  her  for  past  kindness,  but  on  arriv- 
ing at  Bowmaker's  bank,  North  Shields,  found  the  old 
cottage  cold  and  desolate,  the  family  dispersed,  and  the 
venerable  Samaritan  returned  to  dust  just  one  week. 
With  a  heavy  heart  I  returned  to  London,  regretting 
the  baneful  effect  of  a  culpable  procrastination.  Mr. 
Walmsley,  a  gentleman  of  three-score  years,  atten- 
tively listened  to  the  appeal  of  Mrs.  Cookson,  and 
kindly  complied  with  that  lady's  request  to  take  us 
three  boys  into  his  employment  as  apprentices,  and 


OF   DAVID   JOH^STOST.  57 

arranged  with  her  to  board  us  while  his  ships  were  at 
sea.  The  old  Barbara,  more  commonly  called  the  old 
Meal  Barrel,  was  due  in  ten  days,  and  two  of  the  boys 
should  ship  in  her,  which  two  should  be  settled  between 
themselves.  As  for  the  third  boy,  she  could  not  vouch 
for  him  as  being  truthful.  "  In  the  meantime,  send  them 
down  to  my  marine  warehouse,  where  we'll  teach  them 
to  be  half  sailors  before  they  get  to  sea."  This  kind 
reception  and  arrangement  proved  satisfactory  to  all 
parties  concerned.  Even  the  good  old  lady  seemed 
half  reconciled  to  the  prospects  of  her  adopted  charges, 
and  we,  the  pair  of  scapegraces,  were  overjoyed  at  our 
success.  The  addition  to  our  number  failed  to  enhance 
our  respectability.  He  lied  regarding  his  name.  Still, 
he  was  employed.  Twelve  days'  experience  in  the  good 
man's  marine  store,  with  the  exception  of  the  usual 
bantering  the  poor  Scotchmen  have  to  stand  when 
thrown  into  contact  with  a  low  class  of  English,  was 
mainly  comfortable,  each  day's  petty  annoyances  being 
more  than  compensated  by  the  happy  evenings  spent 
in  the  bosom  of  Mrs.  Cookson's  family.  I  may  here 
remark  that  young  as  I  was  I  did  marvel  at  the  sense- 
less jargon  leveled  at  us  on  the  part  of  the  foreman, 
who  in  other  respects  seemed  intelligent,  but  who 
uttered  his  broken  English  as  if  the  most  prickly  part  of 
a  guid  auld  Scotch  thistle  were  stuck  in  his  throat, -ignor- 
ing the  use  of  the  forceful  rattling  "  r "  in  the  noble 
English  language,  and  who  pronounced  the  lower  lights 
of  his  own  harbor  "the  law  leets."  But  the  man  was 
intoxicated  with  authority.  He  briefly  lorded  it  over 
seven  of  his  fellows,  and  stands  excused.  Now  comes 
a  very  painful  scene  in  the  drama.  The  two  Davies  had 


58  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

been  nearly  a  year  boon  companions,  and  had  together 
tasted  of  life's  sweetness,  and  some  of  its  bitters.  The 
hour  approached  that  they  must  part.  The  old  Bar- 
bara, Captain  Patterson,  has  thrown  her  ports  open  to 
receive  another  load  of  black  diamonds  for  London. 
One  of  the  Davies  must  forthwith  report  on  board  to 
undergo  the  usual  trial  trip  previous  to  binding.  It 
fell  to  my  lot  to  become  cabin  boy  to  one  of  the  most 
tyrannical  of  men.  Painful  it  was  to  part  from  the 
Cookson  family,  but  the  pain  was  softened  in  the  pros- 
pect of  seeing  them  on  my  return.  Not  so  in  parting 
with  the  sonsy,  slow-going,  taciturn,  kind-hearted  David 
Bonner,  whom  it  never  has  been  my  good  fortune  to 
see  since ;  but  I  was  subsequently  informed  that  he 
shipped  on  board  the  Harmony.  David  Pierce,  for  that 
was  the  third's  real  name,  shipped  with  me  on  board 
the  Barbara,  and  our  respective  vessels  keeping  apart 
in  their  traffic  deprived  us  of  the  chance  of  meeting. 
From  the  comparatively  cleanly  occupation  of  teazing 
oakum,  etc.,  in  the  store,  to  the  hold  of  the  Meal  Barrel, 
trimming  coal,  was  no  very  fascinating  change,  but  pas- 
sive obedience  is  in  the  sailor,  as  in  the  soldier,  an  im- 
portant attribute.  To-day  I  am  in  the  hold  ;  to-morrow 
on  the  gallant  mast.  Report  says  there  is  a  four  foot 
sea  on  Tynemouth  bar  and  expected  to  increase.  Our 
hatches  were  battened  and  decks  half  washed,  when 
the  order  was  given  to  cast  off  lines  and  be  off  to  sea. 
My  first  duty  as  a  seaman  was  to  assist  to  unfurl  the 
foretopgallant  sail.  Getting  safely  aloft,  and  in  the 
act  of  obeying  instructions,  I  was  seized  with  all  the 
symptoms  of  an  aggravated  form  of  seasickness,  which 
totally  unfitted  me  for  the  duties  devolving  upon  me, 


OF   DAVID    JOHNSTON.  59 

and  before  I  could  reach  the  shrouds  was  compelled  in 
my  nausea,  amidst  the  heartless  jeers  of  my  shipmates, 
to  cast  up  my  accounts  down  upon  the  deck  below. 
Oh,  the  humiliating  effect  of  that  event!  Vain  must 
be  the  attempt  to  describe  my  feelings.  I  could  neither 
eat  nor  sleep,  consequently  got  daily  worse  and  less 
useful.  Hitherto,  my  good  health  and  buoyancy  of 
spirits  had  gained  friends  in  the  most  trying  circum- 
stances. Now  I  found  that  sickness  and  hopeless  dis- 
appointment met  with  naught  else  but  kicks,  cuffs  and 
sneers  from  an  unfeeling  crew.  In  the  course  of  a  few 
days,  with  a  strong  tide  and  southerly  wind  against  us, 
we  cast  anchor  in  Yarmouth  Roads.  While  lying 
there,  the  carpenter,  a  coarse  fellow,  taking  umbrage  at 
me  for  daring  to  ask  him  to  repeat  something  which  I 
failed  to  understand,  struck  me  a  blow  on  the  side  of 
my  head,  carrying  my  hat  overboard,  which  I  thought- 
lessly followed,  being  something  of  a  swimmer.  Placing 
the  hat  where  it  belonged,  on  my  head,  I  essayed  to 
reach  the  ship,  but  was  suddenly  struck  with  a  sense  of 
danger  on  finding  myself  so  far  astern  of  her  as  to  make 
it  appear  impossible  ever  to  reach  her  in  my  present 
weakness  against  so  strong  a  current,  but  hope  revived 
when  I  perceived  the  bustle  on  deck  getting  the  boat 
out  to  save  the  drowning  boy.  Nearly  exhausted  when 
picked  up  nearly  a  mile  astern,  I  was  glad  to  see  the 
carpenter  foremost  in  his  efforts  to  save.  Of  course, 
the  rope's  end,  the  universal  antidote  for  false  steps  on 
the  part  of  unthinking  youth  on  board  ship,  had  to  be 
applied.  To  allow  my  poor  emaciated  frame  to  escape 
the  ordeal  would,  in  the  eyes  of  Patterson,  amount  to 
an  unpardonable  breach  of  discipline.  This  brutish 


60  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

scoundrel  was  a  good  seaman,  and  was  known  to  make 
in  the  slowest-sailing  craft  in  the  Northumbrian 
coast  trade  the  quickest  runs.  My  testimony  in  this 
case  may  be  partial,  and  therefore  deemed  worth- 
less, but  I  could  not  help  thinking  while  under 
the  chastisement  that  the  proverbial  caution,  "To 
spare  the  rope's  end  would  spoil  the  sailor,"  was 
somewhat  overstrained.  Be  that  as  it  may,  from  that 
moment  I  ceased  to  have  any  regard  for  the  man.  Yet, 
strange  to  say,  my  life  on  board  the  Barbara  was  from 
that  hour  greatly  improved.  I  became  unwittingly  the 
hero  of  the  crew,  whose  gibes  and  jeers  were  turned  to 
loving  kindness,  and  just  in  proportion  to  the  heart 
tide  flowing  in  on  the  poor  sick  stranger  did  it  ebb  from 
Captain  Patterson.  They  all  saw  my  earnest  desire  to 
become  a  sailor,  and  lamented  with  me  the  cruel  sick- 
ness standing  in  the  way,  and  had  I  swallowed  half  the 
nostrums  proffered  to  kill  it,  and  exploded  in  the  trial, 
I  am  sure  that  the  crack  would  never  have  been  laid  to 
the  charge  of  spontaneity. 

Even  the  carpenter  manifested  an  anxiety  in  my  be- 
half, and  declared  that  to  cure  seasickness  there  was 
nothing  equal  to  hot  dough  soused  in  treacle.  The 
few  days  spent  in  the  Pool  enabled  me  to  recuperate  a 
little,  but  the  north  run,  with  a  light  ship  and  a  heavy 
sea,  soon  brought  me  back  to  a  condition  more  deplor- 
able than  ever.  I  was  so  emaciated  on  my  return  to 
Shields  that  my  kind  friends  had  to  look  twice  to  rec- 
ognize me.  The  kind  commiseration  I  received  would 
require  an  abler  pen  than  mine  to  describe.  Even  Mr. 
Walmsley  expressed  a  hope  that  the  second  trip  would 
prove  more  conducive  to  my  comfort,  and  while  he 


OF    DAVID   JOHXSTOK.  Cl 

chid  me  for  my  rashness  in  leaping  overboard  in  a  tide 
running  three  and  a  half  knots,  after  a  two  and  six- 
penny hat,  he  did  not  fail  to  censure  the  captain  for 
his  severity.  Thus  fortified,  I  prepared  to  encounter 
the  second  ordeal.  On  bidding  good-by  at  home,  I 
was  agreeably  surprised  at  the  manifestation  of  feeling 
on  the  part  of  a  sweet  girl  of  sixteen  years.  She  had, 
during  the  few  days  in  port,  prepared  a  charm  against 
the  disease  to  which  I  appeared  to  be  so  prone.  This 
charm  consisted  of  a  neat  silken  bag,  heart  form,  con- 
taining odoriferous  material,  of  which  the  smell  of  cam- 
phor unfortunately  predominated.  This  had  to  be 
placed  with  a  silk  ribbon  around  the  neck  by  the  charm- 
er's own  hands,  which  I  felt  was  a  most  agreeable  cer- 
emony, although  the  remedy  proved  entirely  futile,  and 
added  to  the  list  of  my  antipathies,  which  the  smell  of 
camphor  proves  to  be  up  to  the  present  time. 

Of  affairs  of  the  heart  one  labors  under  a  disadvan- 
tage in  speaking  in  the  first  person.  Thou  canst  say 
with  some  degree  of  impunity,  "  He  fell  in  love,"  but 
who  ever  dared  say,  "  I  fell  in  love,"  without  subjecting 
himself  to  the  ridicule  of  his  fellow-susceptibles?  This 
being  a  tale  o'  truth,  what  can  I  do  but  confess? 

To  the  cavilers  at  my  inexperienced  weakness  for 
that  Northumbrian  beauty,  her  heart  teeming  with 
the  milk  of  human  kindness,  and  the  bloom  of  health 
upon  her  cheek,  I  would  ask  my  dear  reader,  Did  you 
ever  have  the  good  fortune  to  be  so  favored  ?  If  not, 
in  sorrow  subdue  your  risibility  and  try  thinking. 

The  remainder  of  my  time  in  the  old  Meal  Barrel 
will  form  the  subject  of  another  chapter,  together  with 
a  little  experience  in  London. 


62  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   KEMINISCENCES. 

I  confess  now  to  have  had  an  intensified  motive  to 
follow  at  that  period  a  seafaring  life.  Not  only  on 
account  of  the  kind  attentions  of  that  young  maiden, 
but  the  delicate  and  disinterested  kindness  of  her 
mother  and  every  member  of  the  family.  Indeed,  I 
seemed  to  grow  in  the  good  graces  of  that  delightful 
family  until  I  became  as  one  of  its  members.  Little 
did  I  dream  of  the  ordeal  awaiting  me  in  London.  It 
is  well  we  know  not  what  a  day  may  bring  forth. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


"  Man's  inhumanity  to  man, 
Makes  countless  thousands  mourn." 

— Burns. 

T  T  NDER  improved  auspices  I  entered  on  my  sec- 
\^J  ond  voyage,  and  soon  discovered  that  my  old 
enemy  was  not  to  be  cheated  out  of  its  victim.  Calm 
weather,  with  a  heavy  ground  swell,  gave  rise  to  a  mo- 
tion in  the  vessel  that  intensified  the  disease,  and 
deeming  it  also  aggravated  by  the  obnoxious  smell  of 
camphor,  I  had  to  lay  the  charm  aside  until  we  re- 
turned to  Shields,  when,  in  respect  to  the  fe.elings  of 
the  charmer,  the  charm  should  resume  its  intended 
location.  During  this  voyage  I  became  reluctantly 
convinced  that  nature  had  not  cut  me  out  for  a  sailor. 
I  became  as  much  disgusted  with  my  uselessness  as 
with  the  cruel  disease  that  caused  it,  and  in  that  frame 
of  mind  resolved  that  in  the  event  of  another  voyage 
failing  to  improve  my  condition,  I  would  try  some 
other  course  for  a  living.  On  arriving  at  Shields  I 
found  Mr.  Walmsley,  notwithstanding  the  exaggerated 
report  of  Patterson,  still  desirous  of  keeping  me  in  his 
service.  Mrs.  Cookson  approved  of  my  determination. 
Jane  seemed  somewhat  down  in  the  mouth,  lamented 
the  failure  of  her  charm,  and  hoped  if  I  did  quit  the 
sea  I  would  do  so  at  this  end  and  not  at  the  Lon- 

63 


64  AUTOBIOGKAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

don  end,  where  there  is  so  much  wickedness.  I  could 
go  back  to  my  own  business  as  well  at  the  one  place  as 
the  other.  But  my  destiny  led  Londonward,  and  there 
I  left  the  old  Barbara  on  my  third  trip,  and  threw  my- 
self once  more  on  the  heartless  world,  with  threepence 
in  my  pocket,  which  the  carpenter  gave  me  when  he 
rowed  me  ashore,  while  the  captain  was  up  town,  say- 
ing it  was  all  the  cash  he  had  by  him  or  he  would 
have  given  me  more  (Jesus  was  the  son  of  a  carpenter), 
and  I  believe  him.  He  had  hurried  me  ashore  to  es- 
cape a  punishment  as  certain  as  that  the  sun  gives  heat. 
A  young  fellow-apprentice,  who,  unlike  myself,  gave 
evidence  of  becoming  a  good  seaman,  had  offended  his 
high  mightiness,  and  had  committed  the  unpardonable 
offense  of  making  an  effort  to  escape  the  enraged  fool 
while  in  a  paroxysm  of  anger,  and  was  therefore  felled 
to  the  deck  by  a  hand-spike  in  the  hands  of  the  verita- 
ble Captain  Patterson,  of  the  Barbara,  of  North 
Shields,  formerly  boatswain's  mate  of  a  man-of-war  in 
good  King  Geordie's  reign.  At  the  sight  of  this  wan- 
ton brutality  I  imprudently,  yet  voluntarily,  gave  utter- 
ance to  an  audible  murmur,  without  any  articulation,  at 
which  he  turned  his  fierce  fiendish  eyes  on  me,  and  said, 
"  I  will  attend  to  your  case  when  I  return  on  board." 
Taking  the  hint,  I  imparted  my  secret  intention  of 
leaving  the  ship  to  the  carpenter,  who  suggested  imme- 
diate action  as  above,  and  left  the  impotent  creature 
to  find  a  new  cabin-boy,  and  thereby  augment  the  num- 
ber of  his  legion  of  haters.  Now  I  am  in  the  great 
metropolis  of  the  world,  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land, 
where,  after  discussing  my  two-penny  breakfast,  I  had 
one  penny  left  still,  in  the  event  of  absolute  starvation 


OF    DAVID   JOHNSTON".  65 

driving  me  to  the  necessity  of  applying  for  succor  to 
one  of  whom  a  word  of  mention  must  now  again  be 
made, — my  half  brother  Alexander,  whom  we  recognized 
as  a  good  soldier,  and  whom  we  left  in  the  enjoyment 
of  a  comfortable  sinecure  in  Leith  Fort,  troubled  with 
a  restless  wife,  and  while  the  Iron  Duke  remained, 
Master-General  of  the  Ordnance.  It  was  only  to  ask  a 
change  more  congenial  to  her  caprice  to  obtain  it.  She 
was  too  near  the  sea  at  Leith,  in  Edinburgh  Castle  too 
high,  in  Calshot  Castle,  Hampshire,  too  low,  in  Yar- 
mouth Castle,  Isle  of  Wight,  too  lonely,  in  Seaforth, 
ditto.  Now  they  are  vending  Barclay  and  Perkins' 
Entire,  near  Wellclose  Square,  E.,  London.  Under  the 
impression  of  a  dreaded  correspondence  with  home, 
awakening  in  my  guilty  conscience  an  awful  sense  of 
my  foolish  conduct,  I  resolved  to  hold  out.  It  took 
six  days  to  conquer  my  aversion  to  an  interview  with 
that  family,  passing  their  door  in  a  starving  condition 
every  day.  At  length  my  brother,  having  noticed  a 
poor,  emaciated  sailor  boy  once  or  twice  strolling  by, 
resolved  to  arrest  the  attention  of  the  same,  should  he 
again  make  his  appearance,  and  sure  enough,  out  he 
came,  with  the  dreaded  interrogatory,  followed  by  a 
good  meal  and  a  much-needed  clean  shirt.  The 
reader  will  readily  perceive  how  these  would  be  appre- 
ciated when  I  inform  him  that  my  food  for  four  days 
consisted  of  the  maggoty  remains  of  the  bread  locker 
of  a  West  Indiaman,  which  I  had  earned  by  assisting 
the  rigger  employed  to  dismantle  her,  and  my  bed  was 
among  the  weeds  in  a  neglected  corner  of  the  West 
India  docks.  After  the  largest  dose  of  humble  pie 
that  ever  fell  to  my  share  to  swallow,  my  future  was 
5 


66  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL    REMINISCENCES 

promptly  settled  in  the  most  approved  military  fashion. 
Home  letters,  like  bullets,  were  mercilessly  leveled  at 
my  devoted  head.  The  luxury  of  one  night  of  bed  re- 
pose was  receding  rapidly  from  view.  Said  my  brother : 
"  Captain  Christie,  of  the  Leith  smack  Trusty,  now  at 
Downing's  wharf,  sails  for  Leith  by  the  morning's  tide  ; 
so  to  secure  your  passage  you  must  get  on  board  to- 
night. The  captain,  a  friend  of  mine,  will  take  you 
to  Leith,  and  you  can  walk  to  Haddington  the  next 
day."  To  consult  me  in  cutting  and  drying  these 
trifles  would  fail  to  comport  with  the  dignity  of  the 
court.  Some  are  slow  to  discover  the  mettle  of  those 
with  whom  they  are  dealing.  In  this  case  I  ventured 
to  inform  the  supreme  judges  that  London  was  my 
destined  field  of  future  action  (which  in  after  years  was 
amply  proven);  that  during  these  six  days  of  untold 
misery  I  had  not  failed  to  endeavor  to  obtain  employ- 
ment, and  even  dared  to  hint  that  all  that  was  needed 
were  a  few  articles  of  decent  clothing.  But  no;  the  fiat 
had  gone  forth.  Nothing  left  but  to  obey.  My  obedi- 
ence was  more  seeming  than  real.  I  wished  them  good- 
by  and  went  on  board  the  Trusty,  not  by  any  means, 
as  they  thought,  to  avail  myself  of  a  passage  home,  but 
simply  to  take  advantage  of  the  food  and  shelter  which 
a  night  on  board  might  furnish.  After  a  generous 
supper  the  crew  remained  in  the  forecastle,  spinning 
yarns,  till  "the  'oor  o'  night's  black  airch  the  keystane." 
The  company  was  enlivened  by  a  cousin  of  one  of  the 
crew,  who  inquired  if  there  were  any  steerage  passen- 
gers on  board.  "  None  but  this  poor  boy  going  back 
to  Scotland  under  the  care  of  the  captain.  He  has 
been  trying  to  be  a  sailor,  but  fails  to  overcome  sea- 


OF   DAVTD   JOHNSTON.  67 

sickness.  He  is  therefore  going  back  to  his  parents, 
from  whom  the  young  rascal  ran  away."  Kindly  turn- 
ing to  me,  the  stranger  asked  me  if  I  really  wished  to 
go  back  on  the  effort  necessary  to  become  a  seaman. 

"  Man,"  said  he,  "  the  great  Lord  Nelson  himself 
never  thoroughly  overcame  seasickness,  and  yet  you 
have  no  doubt  read  at  school  what  kind  of  a  sailor  he 
made  of  himself.  I  am  sailing  on  board  the  Ann  Dal- 
rymple,  of  Methel,  in  Fifeshire,  lying  in  the  Pool. 
Our  captain  wants  a  cabin-boy,  and  I  think  you  will 
suit.  Come  right  along  with  me.  The  same  tide  that 
takes  the  Trusty  down  stream  this  morning  takes  us. 
We  ballast  at  Purfleet,  and  off  to  Riga,  in  the  Baltic 
sea.  We  have  a  kind  captain.  I'll  protect  you  from 
the  mate,  who  is,  nae  doot,  a  bit  of  a  Tartar." 

This  man's  eloquence  silenced  every  scruple,  and 
away  we  went  rejoicing,  together,  to  tackle  once  more 
my  insidious  enemy,  lured  to  the  combat  by  the  beauty 
and  grandeur  of  old  Father  Thames.  The  dockyard  at 
Deptford,  named  by  Caesar  in  finding  the  streamlet  a 
little  too  deep  for  the  passage  of  his  legions  on  his 
way  to  London,  is  now  mainly  used  as  a  granary  for 
the  army  and  navy  of  the  great  nation,  and  the  old 
Dreadnaught,  eighty-four  gun  ship,  used  as  a  hos- 
pital for  the  navy.  The  Isle  of  Dogs  is  opposite, 
where  the  pleasure-seeking  profligate,  Charles,  kept  his 
favorite  canine  specimens,  who  vied  with  himself  in 
wisdom.  To  attempt  to  describe  the  glory  and  grandeur 
of  Greenwich  would  be  out  of  place  here,  further  than 
to  simply  make  mention  of  a  few  of  its  outstanding 
features :  its  proportionate  architecture ;  the  humane 
purpose  to  which  it  is  appropriated ;  its  celebrated 


68        AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  REMINISCENCES 

painted  ceiling  and  hall ;  the  identical  coat  through 
which  the  ball  sped  to  reach  the  heart  of  England's 
noblest  naval  hero  at  Trafalgar ;  the  deer  park ;  the  far- 
famed  hill  surmounted  by  Flamborough  House,  from 
which  the  longitude  of  the  world  is  computed;  the  marine 
school,  with  its  ship  full-rigged  on  dry  land,  and  the 
number  of  disabled  naval  pensioners  to  be  seen  peram- 
bulating ad  libitum  about  the  extensive  grounds,  mak- 
ing the  glorious  resting-place  of  the  disabled  seamen  of 
Old  England  a  world  in  itself  and  a  credit  to  the  nation. 
About  two  miles  below  this  princely  building,  and 
opposite  Blackwall,  there  still  stood  in  that  day  a  rem- 
nant of  barbarism  happily  to  be  seen  now  nowhere 
within  the  bounds  of  civilization,  viz  :  the  skeletons  of 
eight  fellow-creatures  on  three  gibbets  dangling  in 
chains.  Blackwall  has  long  been  famed  for  its  catering 
capacity,  particularly  for  its  whitebait,  a  tiny  fish  caught 
nowhere  else,  and  which  the  caterers  know  how  to 
cook.  A  dinner  at  Lovejoy's  is  not  easily  forgotten, 
but  the  little  knowledge  I  possess  on  the  subject  has 
been  acquired  many  years  subsequent  to  the  period  of 
which  I  am  writing.  We  leave  the  table  and  the  means 
by  which  man  is  supposed  to  be  recruited  and  turn  to 
the  potent  instruments  at  once  of  his  protection  and 
destruction.  We  are  now  off  Woolwich.  Patriotism 
has  had  much  to  do  with  the  attainment  of  the  wonder- 
ful perfectibility  of  the  architecture  of  the  British  navy. 
The  prescriptive  constitution  of  England  appears  to  be 
naturally  interwoven  in  the  heart  and  soul  of  every  one 
born  under  her  flag.  The  protection  of  that  constitu- 
tion has  for  many  years  largely  fallen  to  the  glory  of 
her  wooden  walls.  Here  from  keel  to  royal  in  mathe- 


OF    DAVID    JOHNSTON.  69 

matical  proportions  those  huge  leviathans,  which  prove 
in  their  dextrous  handling  a  terror  to  less  scrupulous 
nations,  are  constructed.  Here,  also,  adjoining  in  the 
Royal  Arsenal,  the  death-dealing  ordnance  is  forged 
and  tested,  with  all  the  concomitant  operations  neces- 
sary to  accuracy  of  aim,  and  all  the  countless  variety  of 
missiles  with  which  the  warlike  student  problematically 
mitigates  the  evils  of  war  by  rendering  it  more  fatal 
and  terrific.  Abreast  of  the  arsenal  lie  at  anchor  two 
vessels  called  the  Hulks,  where  the  evil-doers  of  the 
United  Kingdom  are  concentrated  preparatory  to  trans- 
portation to  distant  misery.  Nor  must  the  more  re- 
mote features  of  Woolwich  be  overlooked :  the  exten- 
sive artillery  barracks,  the  practicing  ground,  the  cadet 
academy,  and  the  Rotunda,  which  was  formerly  erected 
in  St.  James's  Park,  wherein  to  entertain  the  crowned 
heads  of  Europe  during  the  transitory  peace  of  1814, 
now  employed  on  Woolwich  common  as  a  repository  of 
arts,  in  which  may  be  seen  a  variety  of  fine  models  of 
British  possessions  abroad,  such  as  Gibraltar,  Malta  and 
others ;  also,  models  of  ships  in  sections,  showing  im- 
proved methods  of  shipping  horses,  etc.  An  ingenious 
clock  in  this  building  may  deserve  a  passing  notice, 
from  the  fact  of  its  requiring  no  winding  up,  and  is 
reputed  to  be  the  nearest  approach  to  perpetual  motion. 
On  passing  Woolwich  we  heave  in  sight  of  another 
historically  interesting  spot  on  the  opposite  bank  of 
the  Thames.  Purfleet  stands  on  the  Essex  bank  of 
the  river,  and  here,  in  imminent  danger  of  invasion, 
Elizabeth  adressed  her  troops.  The  fleet  being  threat- 
ened with  destruction  by  the  approaching  formidable 
Armada,  the  queen  in  ecstacy  was  made  to  ejaculate, 


70  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES. 

"Alas,  my  poor  fleet !  "  Hence  the  name  of  the  village. 
Situated  in  a  quiet,  secluded  nook,  out  of  the  way  of 
navigation,  the  government  was  not  long  insensible  to 
its  advantages  as  a  spot  wherein  to  deposit  the  nation's 
combustibles.  Therefore,  at  an  early  day,  in  a  very 
unostentatious  way,  the  great  national  magazine  was 
founded. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


"  The  dawn  is  overcast,  the  morning  lowers 

On  every  window-frame  hang  beaded  damps 
Like  rows  of  small  illumination  lamps 
To  celebrate  the  jubilee  of  showers." 

—Hood. 

THE   BALTIC   SEA. 

HERE,  at  this  little  wharf,  the  good  sloop  Ann 
Dalrymple  was  moored  to  receive  her  ballast 
from  the  neighboring  chalk  pit,  and  here  for  the  first 
time  I  signed  articles.  My  wages  were  to  be  condi- 
tionally ten  shillings  a  month.  If  sick,  I  was  to  get  as 
much  as  the  captain  valued  my  services  to  be  worth  ; 
so  expecting  nothing  I  could  not  well  expect  to  be  dis- 
appointed. Against  a  light  easterly  wind  we  tacked 
down  the  stream,  which  gave  us  a  good  chance  of 
obtaining  a  fine  view  of  the  Devonshire,  at  her 
moorings  near  Gravesend.  This  was  one  of  the  last,  if 
not  the  last,  of  this  class  of  huge,  warlike  merchantmen 
employed  by  the  East  India  Company  during  the 
period  of  their  charter,  which  gave  to  them  the  rich 
monopoly  of  all  the  products  of  the  East  for  the 
United  Kingdom.  They  were  certainly  a  noble  look- 
ing craft,  but  slow.  A  voyage  to  China  and  back  was 
considered  good  if  done  in  sixteen  months.  The  clip- 
per of  to-day  will  run  it  in  four  months.  There  is 

71 


72  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

nothing  remarkable  about  Gravesend  and  Tilbury  Fort, 
opposite,  except  their  weakness.  The  enormous 
amount  of  national  wealth  in  the  Thames,  even  in  the 
metropolis  itself,  for  many  years  lay  singularly  open 
to  easy  invasion.  This  anomaly  existed  down  to  a  very 
recent  date,  when  there  appeared  in  the  reading  world 
Chesney's  fiction  entitled  "The  Battle  of  Dorking."  This 
pamphlet  was  graphically  written,  and  the  possibility 
of  such  a  disaster  so  clearly  portrayed  that  it  made  a 
sensible  impression  on  the  whole  nation,  and  inspired  the 
authorities  with  a  lively  appreciation  of  danger.  Hence 
the  late  improvements  of  the  points  of  defense.  Three 
hundred  guns  of  the  largest  caliber  are  now  defending 
those  points. 

We  are  now  passing  the  conflux  of  the  Medway 
with  the  Thames,  where  lay  in  ordinary  the  surplus 
naval  power  of  the  nation ;  and  where,  about  the 
end  of  the  last  century,  the  great  mutiny  transpired. 
Wherever  a  strict  discipline  is  necessary  petty  annoy- 
ance on  the  part  of  subordinate  officials  is  sure  to  be- 
come one  of  its  concomitants,  particularly  when  power 
is  purchasable  with  money.  Many  a  "round  robin" 
grievance  had  been,  from  time  to  time,  placed  before 
the  Lords  of  the  Admiralty  in  vain.  At  length  patience 
gave  way,  and  the  fleet  rebelled.  The  mutiny  was  or- 
derly and  systematically  conducted.  The  mutineers 
appointed  their  officers  and  slackened  in  nothing  involv- 
ing true  discipline.  High  in  the  esteem  of  the  mutineers 
stood  Mr.  Parker,  an  excellent  sailor,  of  good  parts,  and 
possessed  of  decided  executive  ability.  In  loud  accla- 
mation, he  was,  unfortunately  for  himself,  appointed 
admiral.  A  formidable  list  of  grievances  was  laid 


OF   DAVID    JOHNSTON.  73 

before  the  Admiralty  Board.  Awaiting  a  reply  there- 
to, behold  a  signal  from  the  Nore  Light  to  Chatham 
that  the  victorious  fleet,  under  command  of  Lord  Dun- 
can, had  hove  in  sight,  bearing  the  glad  tidings  that 
success  had  crowned  his  mission.  He  had  destroyed 
the  threatening  Dutch  navy  off  Camperdown,  and  in 
glory  returned  to  his  native  land  just  in  time  to  accom- 
plish, as  a  peacemaker,  a  much  more  important  victory 
than  that  which  had  intoxicated  England  with  ecstatic 
joy.  Sensible  of  the  gravity  of  the  condition  into 
which  this  all-important  arm  had  been  precipitated, 
willing  to  remove  tangible  existing  abuses,  yet 
highly  disapproving  the  means  employed  to  redress 
those  disabilities,  he  became  a  sort  of  arbitrator  be- 
tween the  government  and  the  mutineers.  This  up- 
rising has  not  been  fruitless,  but,  as  usual,  the  law  will 
claim  its  victim,  and  poor  Parker  had  to  die  an  igno- 
minious death  at  the  yard-arm  of  the  ship  of  which,  for 
a  brief  season,  he  held  supreme  control. 

Passing  the  Nore  Light,  and  through  the  Swin  into 
the  North  Sea,  I  soon  found  my  old  enemy  was  not  to 
be  baffled,  and  that  my  prospective  maximum  wage  be- 
gan to  recede  from  my  mental  vision ;  but  the  captain, 
unlike  Patterson,  was  kind,  so  that  my  helpless  condi- 
tion was  thereby  greatly  ameliorated.  He  even  com- 
miserated my  condition,  and  marveled  that  I  could  live 
on  what  I  ate.  We  are  in  the  Cattegat,  approaching  the 
bold  headland  whereon  the  ghost  of  Hamlet's  father 
made  the  night  hideous  in  his  transient  re-visit  to  his 
native  Denmark  in  his  interview  with  his  old  friend 
Horatio  and  his  bewildered  son.  Here  we,  in  common 
with  all  vessels  entering  the  Baltic  Sea,  paid  toll  to  the 


74  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL    REMINISCENCES 

Dane,  an  impost  no  longer  existing.  Thanks  to  the 
American  marine  for  its  abolition.  We  pass  the  beau- 
tiful city  of  Copenhagen,  with  its  fine  spires  and  innu- 
merable windmills.  It  appears  that  every  action  in  life 
in  Denmark  is  driven  by  the  wind.  Now,  in  the  tide- 
less  Baltic,  we  experience  the  first  blow,  and  lose  our 
dog  overboard,  a  fine  Newfoundland  fellow,  much  liked 
by  the  captain  and  all  the  crew. 

We  arrive  at  the  mouth  of  the  Dwina,  and  under  the 
protection  of  the  Czar  of  All  the  Russias.  A  custom- 
house boat  manned  by  eleven  men,  the  chief  and 
ten  rowers,  who,  with  the  exception  of  two,  who  were 
left  in  charge  of  the  boat,  boarded  the  sloop  sans  cere- 
monie.  These  unwelcome  visitors  put  the  captain  and 
those  of  the  crew  who  had  been  here  before  on  the 
alert  to  guard  against  the  notorious  thieving  propensi- 
ties of  the  Russian  serf.  Our  captain  invited  the  officer 
to  dinner,  and  while  the  splendid  piece  of  English  beef 
was  cooking,  the  boat's  crew,  obtaining  access  to  the 
hold,  lessened  the  expense  of  discharging  our  ballast 
by  stealing  the  chalk  it  contained.  The  bell  announced 
the  hour  for  dinner,  when  the  captain,  mate,  and  the 
officer,  with  keen  appetites,  sat  down  to  partake  of  the 
hospitalities  of  the  Ann  Dalrymple,  myself  to  wait  on 
them.  Pea  soup  was  the  first  course,  but  in  ladling 
out  the  soup  the  cook  discovered  that  the  beef  had 
disappeared,  and  in  the  spirit  of  disappointment  came 
aft  to  announce  the  sad  disaster.  It  is  supposed  the 
meat  was  extracted  from  the  boiling  cauldron  while 
the  cook  had  turned  around  to  feed  his  fire  or  other 
cause,  and  had  then  been  dropped  overboard  into  the 
thieves'  own  boat,  to  be  hidden  among  the  stolen  chalk. 


OF    DAVID   JOHNSTON.  75 

Some  eight  or  ten  miles  up  stream,  after  discharg- 
ing the  remainder  of  our  ballast,  we  find  ourselves 
safely  moored,  stern  on,  to  the  floating  bridge  in  the 
harbor  of  the  city  of  Riga. 

Our  voyage  here  being  entirely  speculative,  and 
trade  being  dull,  had  the  effect  of  prolonging  our 
sojourn  to  an  unprofitable  extent,  and,  indeed,  threat- 
ened to  lock  us  up  during  the  long,  dreary  months  of 
a  Russian  winter.  One  more  day's  frost  would  have 
sufficed  to  settle  that  point.  Happily,  the  captain  was 
anxious  to  get  home ;  and  his  half  cargo  of  seed  wheat 
and  flax,  being  consigned  to  the  port  of  Leith,  which  is 
only  a  few  miles  from  his  native  place,  where  his  wife 
and  family  lived,  rather  than  run  the  risk  of  being 
detained  all  winter  he  tore  himself  away  through  a 
crust  of  ice  three  inches  thick.  This  movement  proved 
the  more  desirable  from  the  fact  that  the  Russian 
marine  law  forbids  the  use  of  fire  on  board  ship  while 
in  harbor.  All  cooking  must  therefore  be  done  on 
shore  in  rude  sheds  provided  for  the  purpose.  In  these 
sheds  there  is  a  raised  stone  platform,  whereon  the  fires 
of  each  ship  are  built  and  used.  This  establishment  is 
presided  over  by  an  old  soldier,  evidently  chosen  for 
his  cross-grained  cruelty,  and  armed  with  a  fearful 
weapon,  composed  of  some  half-dozen  leather  thongs, 
tipped  with  fire-hardening,  and  fastened  to  the  end  of 
a  two-foot  long  stick,  and  woe  betide  the  urchin  who 
drifts  under  the  real  or  fancied  displeasure  of  this 
specimen  of  humanity,  especially  if  his  vessel  hails 
from  Britain, — that  dear  little  spot,  which  appears 
to  be  at  once  hated  and  feared  by  the  nations  of 
the  earth  in  proportion  to  their  ignorance  of  her  good 


76  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

qualities.  When  gloating  over  his  favorite  amusement 
he  was  wont,  in  broken  English,  to  give  utterance  by 
way  of  emphasizing  his  lashes,  the  following  argumen- 
tative jargon  :  "  Russman  dobra,  Prussman  dobra, 
Daneman  dobra,  Frenchman  dobra,  Swedeman  dobra, 
Spainman  dobra,"  and  the  list  had  to  correspond  with 
the  length  of  the  chastisement,  and  could  only  be  limited 
by  the  inflictor's  average  knowledge  of  geography. 

Our  passage  to  Scotland  would  have  been  monoto- 
nous but  for  the  fact  that  the  crew  of  a  wrecked 
schooner  took  passage  at  Elsinore  with  us,  and  the 
captain  of  said  crew,  being  fond  of  the  bottle,  and  lay- 
ing in  a  good  supply  of  strong  Holland  gin  for  the 
voyage,  and  it  never  having  been  known  that  our  good 
captain  was  in  the  habit  of  casting  the  delectable  stuff 
over  his  left  shoulder,  had  the  effect  of  converting  the 
virtuous  cabin  of  the  Ann  Dalrymple  into  a  Bacchana- 
lian disgrace.  Nor  was  the  effect  confined  to  the  cabin. 

Drunkenness  produces  a  great  variety  of  idiosyn- 
cracies  of  character  on  the  part  of  its  victims.  Its 
pranks  are  manifested  on  no  two  alike.  In  this  case  the 
feeling  of  generosity  was  the  attribute  played  upon. 
All  had  to  taste,  from  mate  to  cabin-boy,  and  soon  the 
forecastle  out-heroded  the  cabin  in  thoughtless  jollity, 
and  by  the  time  we  reached  the  British  coast  there  was 
not  a  man  on  board  who  was  able  to  distinguish  the 
revolving  light  on  the  promontory  of  Flamborough 
Head  from  that  of  the  island  of  May,  a  hundred  miles 
apart  !  (Need  we  marvel  at  the  number  of  shipwrecks?) 
For  five  dark  nights  I  was  kept  in  the  crosstrees  look- 
ing out,  and  when  the  May  was  descried  it  was  taken 
for  the  more  southern  light,  and  we  veered  to  the  north 


OF   DAVID   JOHNSTON.  77 

accordingly.  Nor  were  the  dreamy  eyes  of  the  sapients 
undeceived  until  the  rays  of  the  morning  light  dis- 
closed the  fact  of  our  near  approach  to  Peterhead. 
Then,  under  the  sense  of  shame  and  self-reproach, 
bustle  and  activity  suddenly  became  the  order  of  the 
day.  To  regain  our  lost  way  the  better  part  of  the  east 
coast  of  Scotland  had  to  be  navigated  against  a  light 
contrary  wind,  which  cost  us  nearly  two  days.  At 
length,  after  a  pleasant  sail  up  that  beautiful  estuary, 
the  Firth  of  Forth,  we  arrived  at  our  destination ;  and 
now  the  wage  problem  had  to  be  solved.  Inauspi- 
cious hour!  The  baneful  effects  of  the  late  prolonged 
debauch,  aggravated  by  an  enforced  sobriety,  was  reveal- 
ing a  sad  change  on  the  countenance  of  the  usually 
kind-hearted  captain.  His  wonted  suavity  had  all 
departed  and  given  place  to  a  moroseness  fearful  to 
look  upon.  The  hands  were  paid  off,  and  I  was  called 
to  settle  up.  I  listened  to  a  long  list  of  all  my  short- 
comings, some  of  which  I  was  vain  enough  to  deem 
exaggerated.  He  then  requested  me  to  sign  a  full  dis- 
charge of  all  my  claims  against  the  Ann  Dalrymple, 
and  paid  me  two  shillings  and  sixpence.  The  off- 
handed manner  in  which  the  captain  had  disposed  of 
my  claim  on  the  Ann  Dalrymple  by  the  payment  of 
half-a-crown  I  thought  was  open  to  reconsideration. 
It  is  true  the  contract  was  rather  loosely  drawn,  and 
my  expectations  anything  but  extravagant,  but  an  im- 
partial retrospect  of  the  voyage  led  me  to  believe  that 
Captain  Hutton's  drunken  "  ipse  dixit,"  if  honest,  was 
anything  but  liberal.  I  therefore  sought  an  interview 
with  that  gentleman,  but  he  had  crossed  the  Firth  to 
his  family,  and  I  was  left  to  make  the  most  of  my 


78  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL    REMINISCENCES. 

wealth.  The  weak  has  to  take  the  wall.  I  suppose  I 
tried  to  philosophize,  and  on  my  way  east  broke  my 
half-crown  in  the  purchase  of  a  penny  bap,  which, 
moistened  with  clear  water,  made  a  very  wholesome 
dinner  for  a  dyspeptic,  leaving  a  remnant  of  hunger  to 
do  the  office  of  digesting  another  such  meal,  if  such 
should  fall  in  my  way.  As  it  fell  out,  I  had  at  Tran- 
ent  to  diminish  the  proceeds  of  my  Baltic  trip  to  satisfy 
the  cravings  of  troublesome  hunger  till  I  reached  my 
dreaded  home. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 


"  No  shrine  I  seek  to  sects  unknown  ; 
Oh,  point  to  me  the  path  of  truth! 
Thy  dread  omnipotence  I  own; 

Spare,  yet  amend,  the  faults  of  youth." 

— Byron. 

"  I  will  arise  and  go  to  my  father,  and  will  say  unto  him,  Father, 
I  have  sinned  against  heaven  and  before  thy  face,  and  am  no  more 
worthy  to  be  called  thy  son." 

TO  describe  my  feelings  at  this  juncture  of  my 
hitherto  useless  existence  is  beyond  my  power. 
I  remember  having  been  assailed,  for  the  first  time, 
by  a  desire  to  die.  I  had  heard  of  people  dying  by 
their  own  hands,  but  an  idea  of  this  kind,  thank  God, 
did  not  trouble  me.  I  sat  alone  at  the  east  end  of 
Leith  Links,  with  seventeen  miles  between  me  and  my 
offended  home,  shoeless,  and  partially  covered  with 
rags,  discharged  as  useless  from  my  chosen  field  of 
action,  and  hunger  craving  to  be  appeased  by  the 
product  of  my  three-months'  voyage,  which  was  still 
ensconced  deeply  in  the  pocket  of  my  tarry  canvas 
breeks.  What  shall  I  do  to  obviate  swallowing  the 
bitter  pill  of  facing  home?  To  call  on  Wright,  the 
scene  of  Bonner  &  Go's  ship-owner's  scheme,  I  should 
be  laughed  at.  My  appearance  would  shock  the  refine- 
ment of  the  Davidson  family,  that  of  R.  Millar,  on  the 

79 


80  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL    REMINISCENCES 

North  Bridge,  my  mother's  cousin.  It  came  to  the 
alternative  of  the  road  to  the  Nungate  or  troubling 
my  mother's  sister,  Mrs.  Allan,  a  widow,  a  second 
thought  of  whose  struggles  decided  the  question. 

My  involuntary  disguise  I  assisted,  on  passing 
points  of  the  road  where  I  was  known,  by  drawing  my 
canvas  apology  for  a  hat  over  my  shamed  face.  Weary 
and  footsore  I  approached  the  humble  dwelling  in  the 
Nungate  with  fear  and  trembling.  Self-condemned, 
like  the  prodigal  son,  I  was  incapable  of  estimating 
the  power  and  elasticity  of  parental  affection.  My 
sins  were  as  scarlet.  How  could  they  be  forgiven  ? 

The  Nungate,  on  Tyne's  eastern  shore, 
Sae  fraught  wi'  ancient  classic  lore, 

Its  brig  o'  stane  and  lime, 
That's  braved  Tyne's  rapid  rising  flood, 
And  many  a  shock  has  firmly  stood — 

Nae  man  can  tell  the  time. 

This  fine  old  bridge  of  three  arches  was  so  narrow 
that  two  carts  could  not  pass  each  other,  and  its  Nun- 
gate  approach  was  very  little  wider  than  the  bridge. 
In  this  narrow  street  stands  the  old  stone  house 
wherein  our  little  family  had  lived  for  many  years ;  the 
house  which  the  prodigal  feared  to  enter.  One  end  of 
the  oblong  building  was  devoted  to  baking  the  staff  of 
life,  while  the  other  end,  at  least  the  front  part  of  it, 
was  employed  as  a  shop,  the  entrance  between  which 
(though  chilly)  was  open.  Mustering  sufficient  cour- 
age to  slide  in  I  met  my  mother  in  the  passage,  and 
asked  her  for  a  penny  loaf,  holding  out  my  hand,  ex- 
posing the  coin  to  pay  for  it.  This  step  I  thought 
necessary  to  counteract  the  supposed  influence  of  my 


OF    DAVID   JOHNSTON.  81 

personal  appearance.  Unable  longer  to  hold  out,  in 
true  Eastlothian  vernacular  I  "  grat,"  and  said, 
"  Mither,  dae  ye  nae  ken  yer  ain  son  ?"  My  father 
came  instantly  ben,  and  Christ's  beautiful  parable  was 
reenacted,  followed  by  mistaken  kindness,  which,  by 
dint  of  rich  viands  in  an  impoverished  stomach,  threw 
me  into  a  violent  fever,  which  kept  me  in  bed  for  the 
remainder  of  the  year.  On  the  2Oth  of  January,  1820, 
the  nation  was  thrown  into  mourning  by  the  death  of 
George  III,  the  good-intentioned,  but  weak  and  badly 
advised  king,  whose  demise  was  shortly  followed  by 
that  of  his  son,  the  Duke  of  Kent,  father  of  the  pres- 
ent queen.  My  brother  lingered  a  few  weeks,  and 
passed  away  at  the  age  of  nineteen  years. 

Some  eighteen  months  prior  to  his  death  a  tragedy 
was  enacted  in  which  his  most  intimate  friend,  Peter 
Bowers,  was  made  to  act  the  principal  part,  and  which 
I  think  is  worthy  of  notice  in  this  narrative.  Peter  was 
the  only  son  of  an  aged  lady  residing  near  Dalkeith, 
and  up  to  this  fatal  period  his  conduct  inspired  his 
mother  and  all  his  numerous  friends  with  the  most 
buoyant  hopes  of  his  future.  He  was  apprenticed  to 
Richard  Catleugh,  millwright  and  engineer  in  the 
Nungate,  and  when  nearly  out  of  his  time  he  and  R. 
Catleugh,  Jr.,  were  sent  to  repair  the  wauk  mill  of  Mr. 
Weir,  at  Gifford.  When  the  repairs  were  completed 
Mr.  Weir  brought  out  refreshments,  accompanied  by  a 
bottle  of  "  Scotland's  skaith,"  as  the  judge  on  the  trial 
called  the  contents.  They  all  drank  freely  and  got 
drunk.  On  their  way  home,  laden  with  their  tools,  the 
two  staggered  on  a  party  of  rustics  amusing  themselves 
leaping  from  the  more  elevated  footpath  into  the  car 
6 


82  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL    REMINISCENCES 

riageway.  Peter  challenged  the  best  of  them  for  two- 
pence. The  wager  was  taken  up  by  an  old  plowman  of 
the  name  of  Saunders,  in  the  employ  of  Robert  Laurie, 
brother  of  Sir  Peter  Laurie,  the  great  saddler,  who  sub- 
sequently became  lord  mayor  of  London.  Peter  Bow- 
ers lost  the  wager,  and  on  the  stakes  being  demanded 
refused  to  pay  on  the  score  of  unfairness.  An  angry 
dispute  arose,  and  although  no  blows  were  struck  they 
had  recourse  to  a  more  dangerous  mode  of  warfare, 
that  is,  "  maken  a  muck-heap,"  which  is  accomplished 
by  getting  the  objectionable  one  down  and  then  falling 
on  top  of  him.  The  condition  of  Peter  made  him  an 
easy  opponent.  Prostrate  on  the  water-table  lay  the 
victim,  and  those  heavy  plowmen,  one  after  another, 
throwing  themselves  upon  him,  he  became  exasperated 
to  that  degree  that  had  his  tools  been  handy  the  act  he 
committed,  if  not  deemed  justifiable,  would  have  been 
morally,  if  not  legally,  palliated.  But  the  evidence 
clearly  elicited  the  fact  of  his  having  traveled  from  the 
scene  of  the  scuffle  to  the  tree  under  whose  branches 
he  had  deposited  his  tools,  lifted  his  axe,  retraced  his 
steps,  and,  notwithstanding  he  foamed  with  rage,  singled 
out  his  opponent  and  knocked  his  brains  out.  The 
trial  was  a  solemn  affair.  I  took  a  seat  in  the  gallery 
of  the  court,  which  was  that  of  the  High  Court  of 
Justiciary,  Edinburgh.  The  trial  presented  a  picture 
such  as  can  never  be  erased  from  my  mind.  For  a 
graphic  description  thereof,  the  reader  must  fall  back 
on  Scott,  in  his  "  Heart  of  Midlothian."  Up  to  the 
period  of  which  I  write,  there  had  been  very  little 
change  in  the  severe  aspect  of  the  administration  of 
justice  under  the  Scottish  jurisprudence.  There  were 


OF    DAVID    JOHNSTON.  83 

the  judges,   five  in  number,  all    wigged  and  ermined, 
the  advocates  pro  and  con,  the  barristers,  briefed  and 
briefless,  the    clerks    of   court,  writers    to    the    signet, 
sheriff,  procurator  fiscal,  and  fifteen  jurymen,  sworn  to 
well  and  truly  try  the  case  between  our  sovereign  lord 
the    king  and    the    prisoner   at    the  bar,  all    solemnly 
assembled  to  redeem  the  offended  law.    Who  is  charged 
with  breaking  that  law?     The  only  son  of  that  broken- 
hearted widow  who  sits  weeping  at  the  door,  and  to 
complete  the  awful  scene,  between  two  of  the  old  city 
guard,  in  their  picturesque  uniform  and  Lochaber  axes, 
the    prisoner   is    ushered    before    that    awful   tribunal, 
which  possesses  the  power  either  to  restore  him  to  the 
arms  of  a  heart-broken  mother  in  his  wonted  freedom, 
or  to  doom  him  to  an  ignominious  death  on  the  scaf- 
fold.    All  eyes  were  strained  to  trace  the  countenance 
of  that  anomalous  youth  whose  appearance,  and  the  rec- 
ord of  whose  life,  gave  the  stern  lie  to  the  supposition 
that  he  could  be  guilty  of  such  a  crime  of  entertaining 
for  one  moment  what  is  termed  malice  prepense.     The 
brain  and  respectability  of  two  counties  were  moved  in 
his  behalf,  but  sympathy  was  powerless  in  the  face  of 
the  damning  fact  that  the  space  between  the  scene  of 
the  homicide  and  that  of  the  instrument  of  destruction 
used  was  sufficiently  apart  to  allow  of  reflection.     So 
the  court  opined,  and  hence  the  sable  sealed  unanimous 
verdict    of    an    intelligent    jury.      Peter    Bowers    was 
doomed  to  die  by  the  hands  of  the  common  hangman 
at  the  Tolbooth  of  Edinburgh  on  a  given  day,  where- 
upon the  whole  community  was  aroused  in  his  behalf. 
From  ministers,  elders,  judges,  teachers,  even  the  lord 
lieutenant  of  East  Lothian,  came  pouring  in  petitions 


84  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

urging  commutation.  At  length  the  executive  yielded 
to  an  importunity  which  was  unparalleled  in  the  history 
of  the  court,  and  granted  the  questionable  boon  of  sub- 
stituting transportation  for  life  and  branding  with  the 
letter  M,  for  the  death  penalty.  In  a  letter  from  Peter 
two  years  later  he  declared  that  had  the  choice  been 
left  to  him,  while  thankful  for  the  kind  sympathy  of 
his  friends,  he  would  prefer  the  latter  punishment.  He 
further  wrote  that  it  lies  beyond  the  power  of  tongue 
or  pen  to  portray  the  horrors  of  transportation  to  penal 
settlements. 

My  fever  abating,  and  otherwise  convalescent,  I 
found  the  London  fever  assuming  the  ascendant  in  my 
wayward  cranium.  I  resolved  to  leave  the  scene  of 
my  birth  forever,  and  on  the  2/th  of  November,  1820, 
embarked  at  Leith  on  board  the  Lord  Wellington 
smack  as  a  steerage  passenger.  We  had  a  very  rough 
passage  of  fourteen  days'  duration,  having  twice  touched 
the  coast  of  Norway.  At  length,  with  loss  of  bowsprit 
and  some  sails,  and  otherwise  dilapidated,  we  found  a 
haven  in  Harwich,  in  Norfolk.  Those  passengers  who 
had  means,  and  were  impatient  of  delay,  took  coach  for 
London.  Among  them  was  an  Episcopal  minister, 
upon  whose  shoulders  were  saddled  all  the  disasters  of 
the  fourteen  days'  knocking  about  the  North  Sea  by 
the  superstitious  crew,  some  of  whom  declared  that 
without  doubt  a  fair  wind  for  the  Thames  would  set  in 
the  moment  we  were  well  quit  of  the  Jonah.  A  cap- 
tain in  the  navy  and  some  ten  other  cabin  passengers 
joined  the  parson.  Several  remained  on  board,  among 
whom  was  an  officer  in  charge  of  a  Highland  female  of 
the  name  of  Ross,  who  was  prisoner  in  the  forecastle, 


OF    DAVID    JOHNSTON.  85 

and  who  was  transported  for  fourteen  years  to  Van 
Dieman's  Land.  She  had  for  years  kept  the  Rob  Roy 
public  house  on  the  shore  of  Leith,  and  was  convicted 
of  passing  a  forged  Bank  of  England  note,  with  a  face 
promise  of  ten  pounds.  She  had  wealth  and  some 
influence.  The  exercise  of  the  latter  procured  the 
privilege  of  taking  a  favorite  grandchild  into  banish- 
ment with  her.  During  the  few  hours  we  were  in 
Harwich  it  became  painful  to  witness  the  wild,  unrea- 
sonable efforts  of  this  woman  to  escape  her  punishment. 
She  exposed  two  purses  of  a  hundred  sovereigns  each, 
and  offered  them  all  to  anyone  who  could  put  her 
ashore,  a  proposition  made  in  the  sight  and  hearing  of 
vigilance  personified.  The  eye  and  ear  of  the  guardian 
angel  were  ever  present  at  the  only  hatch  or  place 
of  exit  from  her  miserable  berth,  and  therefore  any 
attempt  to  cheat  the  Hulks  at  such  a  time  and  place 
would  be  akin  to  madness.  On  the  morning  of  the 
i  ith  day  of  December  the  seers  of  the  crew  were  con- 
firmed in  their  prognostications  on  this  occasion,  for  a 
more  beautiful  winter  morning  never  dawned.  The 
wind  came  in  a  stiffish  breeze  from  the  north,  which 
had  the  effect  of  bringing  out  the  south-bound  fleet, 
which  had  been  for  more  than  two  weeks  accumulating 
along  the  coast  in  shelter,  and  a  grander  sight  it  never 
was  my  lot  to  behold  before  nor  since.  From  Harwich 
harbor  to  the  Pool  at  London  was  one  dense  forest  of 
masts  in  danger  of  getting  foul  of  each  other.  We  are 
now  above  Gravesend,  and  with  the  exception  of  two 
unfortunate  souls  we  were  happy  in  the  thought  of 
safely  arriving,  after  a  passage  of  some  danger  and  a 
good  deal  of  rough  experience.  Now  the  government 


86  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   EEMINISCENCES 

boat  awaits  the  arrival  of  the  Wellington  to  receive  the 
condemned  one  and  her  innocent  grandchild,  and  to 
place  them  on  board  the  detestable  Hulks  preparatory 
to  a  miserable  voyage  of  six  months'  duration.  We 
arrive  abreast  of  the  floating  horror  at  Woolwich.  The 
smack  lays  to,  the  boat  is  lashed  alongside.  A  formal 
demand  is  made  for  the  custody  of  the  criminal,  accom- 
panied by  papers  explanatory  of  the  departure  on  the 
part  of  the  Scottish  court.  Intense  interest  was  mani- 
fested on  their  behalf.  After  the  trite  farewell  expres- 
sions a  dead  silence  ensued,  which  was  painfully  affect- 
ing. The  prisoner  had  kept  her  bunk  nearly  all  the 
voyage.  She  was  but  little  known  to  either  the  crew 
or  passengers,  who  were  taken  by  surprise  on  behold- 
ing a  lady  well  and  tastefully  attired  in  satin,  a  rich 
veil  partially  concealing  a  good  looking  countenance 
that  might  have  seen  some  forty-three  years.  The  poor 
thing  had  donned  her  best  attire  for  the  occasion, 
doubtless  looked  upon  as  household  gods,  but  which 
must,  in  a  few  minutes,  be  torn  rudely  from  her  person 
and  replaced  by  the  coarse,  degrading  habiliments  of 
the  convict. 

"  Verily,  the  way  of  the  transgressor  is  hard."  The 
law  is  very  tender  of  its  victims.  See  with  what  care 
and  solicitude  the  half-hung  wretch  is  recuscitated  to 
fit  him  for  his  second,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  less  bun- 
gling, execution.  Mrs.  Ross  was  kindly  assisted  over  the 
gunwail  of  the  Wellington,  her  rich  dress  tenderly  ad- 
justed below  while  descending  the  rope  ladder  into  the 
boat.  Just  at  this  juncture  a  rich  tenor  voice,  in 
imitation  of  the  old  song,  struck  up,  "  And  shall  I  see 
your  face  again,  and  shall  I  hear  you  speak  ;  I'm  down- 


OF    DAVID    JOHNSTON.  87 

right  dizzy  wi'  the  thought,  in  troth  I'm  like  to  greet," 
and  I  can  assure  the  reader  that  as  the  smack  resumed 
her  course  the  "greeting"  was  by  no  means  confined  to 
the  singer.  If  there  was  a  dry  eye  in  that  crowd,  mine 
was  too  moist  to  detect  it.  The  tenor  was  a  Mr.  Elliott, 
a  tailor  in  Westminster.  He  was  seconded  by  a  fine 
young  soldier  returning  from  furlough,  of  the  name  of 
McCullough,  of  the  Coldstream  Guards,  who  by  dint  of 
his  superior  education  was  relieved  of  military  duty, 
and  employed  all  his  time  in  the  office  of  Earl  Fitz 
Clarence,  son  of  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  afterward  Will- 
iam the  Fourth,  the  sailor  king.  Before  Charing  Cross 
was  metamorphosed  I  had  met  Mac  in  the  King's 
Mew's  barracks,  the  ground  whereon  stand  the  National 
Gallery,  Nelson's  monument,  and  surroundings.  At 
six  p.m.  the  Lord  Wellington  was  safely  moored  at 
Downie's  wharf,  Wapping,  after  a  tedious  passage  of 
fourteen  days, — now  done  by  rail  in  about  as  many 
hours.  Twelve  hours  from  Harwich,  100  miles,  in- 
cluding the  delay  at  Woolwich.  On  our  arrival  a 
search  was  made  for  contraband  goods.  A  bottle  of 
whisky  found  in  the  trunk  of  a  steerage  passenger  was 
seized,  and  the  fellow  threatened  with  a  fine.  Pleading 
ignorance  of  the  excise  law  the  disputants  drifted  into 
the  office.  I  went  in  with  them,  and  who  should  fol- 
low at  our  heels  but  the  naval  officer  and  the  minister, 
who  had  just  arrived  by  coach  from  Harwich.  On  giv- 
ing instructions  to  the  clerks  relative  to  their  baggage 
when  the  vessel  should  arrive,  they  were  informed  that 
the  Wellington  had  been  lying  at  the  wharf  for  the 
last  hour,  which  they  deemed  incredible,  being  ignorant 
of  the  Jonah  theory. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


"  The  world  is  a  bundle  of  hay, 

Mankind  are  the  asses  who  pull ; . 
Each  tugs  in  a  different  way, 
And  the  greatest  of  all  is  John  Bull." 

— Bvron. 

NOW  I  am  in  London,  the  city  of  the  world  ;  the 
Scotchman's  field  of  laudable  effort ;  the  head  and 
front  of  civilization  ;  the  rewarder  of  merit,  and  the 
chastiser  of  everything  low.  This  very  spot,  too, 
Downie's  wharf,  is  suggestive  of  a  retrospect  which  is 
by  no  means  flattering  to  myself.  Here,  years  ago,  I 
spent  a  night  on  board  the  Trusty,  Captain  Christy, 
sent  by  my  cold  half-brother  on  my  supposed  way  back 
to  an  offended  home.  Here  pride  gained  the  ascend- 
ancy and  led  me  a  dance  up  the  Baltic,  to  escape  an 
ordeal  which  that  very  step  had  the  effect  of  aggravating 
to  a  ten-fold  degree,  but  it  may  be  all  for  the  best.  At 
least  I  know  it's  good  to  think  so.  I  begin  to  feel  the 
importance  of  the  present  juncture  as  a  new  starting 
point.  I  am  in  London  ;  I  am  eighteen  years  old,  in 
possession  of  as  many  shillings  as  years  in  hard  cash, 
a  good  sound  constitution,  a  good  trade  at  my  finger 
ends,  and  a  determination  second  to  none.  What,  then, 
do  I  lack  to  insure  success?  Judgment,  sound  judg- 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL    REMINISCENCES.  89 

ment.  Alas !  that  is  an  attribute  that  never  has  held  a 
prominent  place  in  the  composition  of  my  character. 
The  wages  of  a  journeyman  baker  in  those  days  ran, 
for  foremen,  from  20  to  30  shillings  a  week  ;  for  second 
hands,  from  15  to  20;  for  third  hands,  from  9  to  14. 
My  first  place  with  Mr.  Gibb,  Silver  street,  Golden 
square,  brought  ten  shillings  a  week. 

This  was  obtained  through  the  medium  of  what  is 
termed  in  London  a  house  of  call.  Every  trade  has  its 
house  or  houses  of  call,  and  to  the  uninitiated  they  are 
very  useful.  They  partake  of  the  communistic  and 
the  office  of  intelligence  principles  combined.  Those  in 
place  never  allow  the  outs  to  starve.  The  landlord 
keeps  a  record  of  applications  for  men,  and  all  the 
members  are  interested  in  supplying  the  wants  of  the 
trade  in  that  direction  in  order  to  relieve  themselves  of 
a  self-imposed  tax.  Having  traveled  the  streets  for 
six  weeks,  my  exchequer  down  to  a  solitary  shilling, 
the  receipt  of  my  first  week's  wage  was  very  acceptable. 
Of  course,  a  portion  of  this  had  to  be  applied  to  treat 
the  boys  who  helped  me  to  gain  this  round  of  the 
ladder  by  which  to  climb  to  fortune.  Now  all  London 
was  astir  to  have  his  first  parliament  opened  in  person 
by  that  notable  specimen  of  royalty,  George  the  Fourth. 
Riots  having  occurred  at  his  coronation,  when  he 
rudely  debarred  Queen  Caroline  of  the  privilege,  many 
were  apprehensive  that  such  might  characterize  this, 
his  first  public  act  as  king.  The  town  was  divided, 
but  such  is  the  intoxicating  effect  of  royal  pageantry 
on  the  multitude  that  I  should  hesitate  to  give  cre- 
dence to  that  of  which  I  was  on  that  occasion  an  eye 
and  ear  witness.  I  took  my  stand  among  the  gaping 


90  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL    REMINISCENCES. 

crowd  in  Piccadilly,  where  his  Majesty  was  coolly 
received.  I  was  borne  along  in  the  living  mass  as  near 
to  the  royal  carriage,  drawn  by  eight  richly  caparisoned 
horses,  as  I  could  get.  At  Charing  Cross  the  coolness 
had  ripened  into  a  hiss.  At  the  Horse  Guards  faint 
hisses  mingled  with  loud  cheers,  down  Parliament 
street  cheers  gaining  the  ascendancy,  and  by  the  time 
the  cavalcade  arrived  at  the  parliament  house  no 
sound  but  the  most  throat-cracking  huzzas  saluted  my 
unsophisticated  ear.  Consistency,  thou  art  a  jewel ! 
Aspiring  to  a  higher  round  in  the  ladder  after  the 
coronation  I  soon  found  a  second  hand's  place  of 
seventeen  shillings  with  Mr.  Baldie,  of  Frith  street, 
Soho  square.  During  this  year  (1822)  the  King 
visited  Scotland,  and  who  should  have  the  honor  of 
.being  the  chosen  few  to  accompany  him  became  the 
theme  of  angry  controversy  and  much  jealousy  in  high 
places, — so  much  so  that  the  celebrated  Lord  Castle- 
reagh  retired  in  high  dudgeon  to  his  country  seat,  and 
destroyed  himself  by  severing  his  jugular  vein.  The 
King  in  his  caprice  had  taken  into  his  social  councils 
a  rich,  ignorant  baker  of  the  name  of  Sir  William 
Curtis,  the  man  who,  it  is  said,  proposed  at  a  Baccha- 
nalian spree  a  toast  of  "  the  three  C's,"  and  on  being 
asked  to  explain  said  the  three  C's  stood  for  Church, 
King  and  Curtis.  This  man  was  at  this  period  car- 
tooned and  caricatured  as  no  other  man  ever  was, 
and  he  had  in  his  mansion  a  very  large  apartment 
in  which  to  display  them.  One  I  well  remember. 
He  was  dressed  in  a  grotesque  Highland  costume, 
and  for  a  sporran,  hanging  from  the  lower  part  of  his 
huge  body,  an  immense  turtle,  of  the  flesh  of  which 


OF   DAVID    JOHNSTON.  91 

creature  he  was  known  to  be  passionately  fond. 
The  King  had  the  bad  taste  to  carry  this  voluptuous 
ignoramus  with  him  to  the  north,  creating  thereby 
a  good  deal  of  gossiping  scandal  from  his  coarse- 
ness. Strange  conduct  on  the  part  of  one  who 
was  said  to  be  the  first  gentleman  in  Europe!  The 
new  Marriage  Act  was  made  law  this  year,  as  also 
the  new  Bread  Law,  doing  away  with  the  quartern  and 
half-quartern  loaves,  rendering  it  penal  to  sell  bread 
otherwise  than  by  weight.  About  this  time  I  became 
acquainted  with  Sophia  Grainger,  a  young  lady,  the 
only  daughter  of  an  elderly  widow  lady  living  on  her 
means  in  Somers  Town.  To  the  influence  of  this  dear 
lady,  morally  and  physically  speaking,  I  confess  to 
standing  indebted  for  my  salvation.  The  life  of  a 
journeyman  baker  in  London  is,  to  say  the  least, 
anomalous.  Without  the  advantages  of  domesticity 
he  is  held  in  a  species  of  slavery  by  his  employers  by 
means  of  the  domestic  tie.  Bakers  must  sleep  on  the 
premises  of  the  scene  of  their  daily  and  nightly  labor. 
Their  barracks,  as  their  sleeping  apartment  is  termed, 
run  'from  decent  to  the  beastly.  An  incident  may 
suffice  to  show  the  nature  of  the  latter.  I  had  aspired 
to  the  altitude  of  foreman,  and  engaged  with  a  gentle- 
man who  shall  here  be  nameless.  The  bakehouse,  as 
usual,  was  in  the  cellar,  the  oven  beneath  the  public 
pavement. 

I  asked  for  the  barracks,  wherein  to  deposit  my  sur- 
plus clothing,  and  was  disgusted  on  being  led  into  a 
dark  nook  in  the  cellar,  fitted  up  with  bunks  for  beds, 
and  entirely  without  a  chance  of  light  or  ventilation. 
My  first  impulse  was  to  leave,  but  the  thoughts  of  my 


92  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL    REMINISCENCES 

new  elevation  induced  me  to  stay  to  learn.  This  man 
was  very  religious;  employed  much  of  his  time  distrib- 
uting religious  tracts  among  the  denizens  of  the  neigh- 
boring mews,  abolished  Sunday  trading,  established 
domestic  family  worship  in  his  splendid  parlor,  at  which 
on  Sunday  morning  all  the  domestics,  male  and  female 
(three  of  each),  were  requested  to  attend,  which  I  did 
once,  and  could  not  help  thinking  that  that  was  once 
too  often.  I  remained  in  his  service  six  months,  and 
on  being  asked  my  reasons  for  non-attendance  at  family 
worship  I  told  him  that  after  a  night's  rest  in  such  a 
bed,  in  such  a  place,  I  failed  to  find  myself  in  a  frame 
of  mind  suitable  for  worship,  and  therefore  should 
leave  his  service  next  Saturday  night,  which  I  did, 
and  was  afterward  glad  to  learn  that  the  rebuke  was 
not  thrown  away.  The  hours  of  labor,  too,  are  drawn 
out  to  an  ungodly  degree.  Commencing  at  eleven 
p.  m.,  his  day's  work  is  spun  out  till  the  following  p. 
m.  about  six  during  the  six  lawful  days  in  the  week, 
and  on  Sundays  from  nine  till  two.  Notwithstanding 
the  limited  time  given  him  for  rest  and  recreation  it 
must  be  acknowledged  that  the  hours  were  often 
very  injudiciously  spent.  Dancing  among  the  Scotch 
bakers  laid  claim  to  the  hours  that  belonged  to  the  bed 
and  the  book,  and  that  thoughtless  pastime  taking  a 
prominent  part  in  the  long  list  of  my  weaknesses  I 
easily  fell  a  victim  to  the  fascinating  maze.  To  keep 
the  arrangement  free  from  objectionable  characters 
some  twenty  of  us  hired  the  Bedform  rooms,  High  Hoi- 
born,  for  two  nights  in  the  week.  These  rooms  were 
kept  by  a  highly  respectable  family  of  the  name  of 
Trevest,  who  seemed  to  be  well  pleased  with  our  par- 


OF    DAVID    JOHNSTON.  93 

ties,  as  well  they  might,  for  in  the  whole  course  of  sub- 
sequent experience  I  have  failed  to  witness  anything  of 
the  kind  so  well  conducted. 

During  1825  I  worked  for  Mr.  Tate,  corner  of  Hand 
Court,  High  Holborn.  There  I  received  the  painful 
news  of  my  father's  death  at  eighty-four  years  of  age. 
The  celebrated  banker  Fauntleroy  was  executed  at  the 
Old  Bailey  in  that  year.  Led  on  by  the  fascinations  of 
a  Mrs.  Forbes  he  committed  the  most  heartless  frauds 
and  caused  the  total  ruin  of  numbers,  among  whom 
were  many  widows  and  orphans.  About  this  epoch 
Daniel  O'Connell  was  causiug  some  uneasiness  in  the 
councils  of  conservatism  by  his  telling  appeals  to  the 
people  in  behalf  of  Catholic  emancipation.  He  is  also 
charged  with  creating  a  movement  which,  in  later  years, 
under  the  auspices  of  his  more  fiery  and  less  politic  co- 
adjutor, Fergus  O'Connor,  gave  some  trouble  and  a  good 
deal  of  apprehension.  It  was  rumored  also  that  he 
(Daniel  O'Connell)  wrote  the  celebrated  document  called 
the  "Charter,"  which  advocated  a  thorough  change  of 
government,  rendered  the  more  lucid  to  the  masses  by 
its  distinguishing  features,  called  points,  viz:  (i)  Uni- 
versal suffrage,  (2)  vote  by  ballot,  (3)  annual  parlia- 
ments, (4)  non-property  qualification,  (5)  payment  of 
members  of  parliament ;  in  opposition  to  the  present 
system  of  septennial  parliaments:  (2)  Open  voting,  (3) 
property  qualification  of  the  exercise  of  the  franchise, 
(4)  non-payment  of  members  of  parliament,  (5)  property 
qualifications  of  members  of  parliament. 

This  document  called  for  a  wide  departure  from 
the  then  present  system,  which,  with  all  its  faults,  had 
stood  the  brunt  of  many  a  hard-fought  battle  and 


94  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

borne  the  nation  on  to  a  state  of  prosperity  which  was 
the  envy  of  the  world.  Still  the  reforming  spirit  had 
fairly  fastened  on  that  wonderful  people.  It  seemed 
that  an  obscuring  veil  had  been  withdrawn  from 
the  nation's  vision,  and  suddenly  exposed  to  view  the 
most  glaring  inconsistencies.  It  saw  and  marveled 
at  old  Gatten  and  old  Sarum,  sitting  in  their  easy  con- 
servative chairs,  playfully  manufacturing  political  tools 
to  help  existing  powers,  to  prolong  monopolies  aged  in 
plethora.  It  saw  busy  Birmingham,  with  all  its  inge- 
nuity and  all  its  energy,  voiceless  in  the  law-making 
process,  and  wondered  at  its  own  blindness.  Now  mo- 
nopoly trembled  in  its  most  impregnable  stronghold — 
the  Bank  of  England,  the  East  India  Company,  the 
West  India  interest,  with  its  system  of  human  bondage, 
the  high-handed  landed  interest  lording  it  over  the 
million  in  taxing  the  laborer's  loaf.  All  these,  with  a 
thousand  and  one  intermediate  abuses,  requiring  the 
pruning-knife  or,  like  the  blasted  fig-tree,  rooting  out. 
What  a  sickle-waiting  harvest!  Who  the  laborers? 
The  house  is  divided  against  itself.  The  privileged 
class  will  have  all  things  remain  as  they  are.  Open 
once  the  flood-gates  of  reform  and  who  shall  say  what 
part  of  our  sacred  constitution  will  sustain  the  shock? 
The  shallow-thinking  understrata,  taking  pattern  from 
a  neighboring  nation,  would  have  all  things  swept  away 
that  they  may,  in  their  wisdom,  begin  anew.  But,  hap- 
pily, there  is  in  Great  Britain  a  wiser,  sounder,  deeper- 
thinking  middle  class. 

In  their  horny  hands  the  sickle  placed, 
Whate'er  they  undertake  is  ne'er  disgraced. 

The  happy  blending  of  the  two  antagnonisms  ap- 


OF    DA.VID   JOHNSTON.  95 

pears  to  the  subscriber  as  the  course  of  wisdom.  Surely 
he  must  be  a  blind  reformer  whose  composition  lacks 
the  valuable  ingredient  of  conservatism,  and  vice  versa, 
the  conservatism  of  an  individual  lies  open  to  objection 
who  opposes  the  removal  of  a  palpable  abuse,  even  if 
actuated  by  fear  of  consequences.  I  was  working  in 
Mount  street,  Grosvenor  square,  among  the  elite  of  the 
metropolis,  when  the  first  blow  was  struck  at  the  West 
India  monopoly  by  admitting  the  saccharine  products 
of  the  Mauritius  at  an  equal  ratio  of  duty  with  those 
of  the  West  Indies,  which  had  the  effect  of  rendering 
their  entire  property  unproductive,  and  which  paved 
the  way  for  the  abolition  at  a  later  day  of  that  blot 
which  for  so  many  years  had  stained  the  otherwise  fair 
escutcheon  of  Great  Britain — human  slavery.  Under 
the  auspices  of  Earl  Grey  the  growing  agitation  for 
reform  in  parliament  was  fast  ripening  into  an  irresist- 
ible force.  All  the  reformers  seemed  to  agree  to  con- 
centrate their  forces  on  some  such  measure  as  would 
augment  the  popular  voice,  well  knowing  that  by  in- 
creased facilities  each  particular  hobby  would  be  more 
easily  attained.  The  Irish  patriot  was  waxing  strong 
when  the  Duke  of  York,  in  his  Protestant  zeal,  in  his 
place  in  parliament,  made  a  violent  anti-Catholic  speech, 
ending  in  a  solemn  oath  to  do  all  in  his  power,  while 
life  lasted,  to  prevent  Catholics  sitting  in  parliament. 
This  speech  was  printed  in  letters  of  gold,  on  vellum, 
and  distributed  broadcast  over  the  kingdoms  three, 
while  Dan  went  on  in  the  even  tenor  of  his  way. 

One  of  the  most  prominent  men  of  the  day  was 
Henry  Brougham.  His  father,  Brougham  of  Vaux,  in 
Cumberland,  in  his  youth  repaired  to  the  Scottish  cap- 


96  AUTOBIOGEAPHICAL    REMINISCENCES 

ital,  and  married  the  sister  of  Robertson,  the  historian, 
and  I  believe  Harry  was  the  only  issue  of  that  union. 
He  distinguished  himself  in  his  profession,  and  in  liter- 
ary circles  was  one  of  the  brightest  ornaments  of  that 
famous  galaxy  of  talent  which  adorned  Edinburgh  at 
that  epoch ;  but,  like  all  aspiring  Scotchmen,  he  par- 
took at  an  early  date  of  the  London  fever,  and  the 
tone  of  his  ambition  may  be  gathered  from  the  expres- 
sion he  is  said  to  have  made  use  of  when  taking  farewell 
of  his  friends  and  stepping  into  his  carriage.  "Good-by, 
friends,"  he  said,  "here  goes  the  future  Lord  Chancel- 
lor of  England  " — a  prognostication  which  was  verified 
under  very  peculiar  circumstances.  He  was  one  of 
those  retained  to  defend  the  character  of  Queen  Caro- 
line in  opposition  to  the  vile  charges  and  insinuations 
advanced  against  that  unhappy  lady  by  an  unkind 
husband  and  the  pandering  sycophants  of  a  corrupt 
court.  The  evidence  of  the  Duke  of  Clarence  had 
been  adduced  against  the  Queen  when  H.  R.  H.  for  a 

o  ^Cf 

short  time  left  the  court,  and  on  his  return,  and  when 
about  to  take  his  seat,  Brougham  was  in  the  midst  of  a 
volley  of  invectives  against  the  enemies  of  his  client 
such  as  no  other  man  could  wield.  In  the  heat  of  argu- 
ment he  had  the  daring  to  utter  the  following  words: 
"  Notwithstanding  the  evidence  of  that  royal  slanderer 
now  resuming  his  seat,  the  royal  lady  at  the  bar  of 
this  court  is  as  innocent  of  the  crimes  and  follies  with 
which  she  is  charged  as  the  child  unborn."  We  now  leave 
the  future  lord  to  fight  his  own  battles  against  a  host  of 
enemies  in  high  places,  increased  in  numbers  and  viru- 
lence by  his  action  on  the  Queen's  trial ;  but  if  his  pres- 
tige was  impaired  in  the  aristocratic  ranks  by  his  intern- 


OF   DAVID   JOHNSTON.  97 

perate  language  on  that  trial  it  was  more  than  compen- 
sated for  by  the  rise  in  the  tide  of  popular  sentiment. 

My  acquaintance  with  Sophia  had,  in  the  course  of 
four  years,  ripened  into  an  inseparable  attachment,  and 
we  mutually  came  to  the  conclusion  that  her  mother 
should  be  made  acquainted  with  our  true  position.  My 
humble  position  in  life  made  me  backward,  but  the  ordeal 
passed  in  a  cordial  reception,  and  my  mind  was  much 
relieved  by  the  prospect  of  the  termination  of  a  sort,  of 
vagabond  life  which  naturally  pertains  to  an  undomesti- 
cated  domestic.  None  but  those  who  have  been  deprived 
of  the  amenities  of  life  can  possibly  appreciate  their  true 
value.  The  gates  were  thrown  open  to  a  golden  elysium 
— a  happy  home  in  which  I  was  made  most  welcome. 

1824..  At  this  time,  in  a  way  stripped  of  all  osten- 
tation, was  borne  the  mortal  remains  of  England's  great 
poet,  Lord  Byron,  on  its  way  from  Missolonghi,  in 
Greece,  where  he  died,  to  their  final  resting-place  in 
Hacknall,  near  Newstead  Abbey,  the  seat  of  his  ances- 
try. Mine  eyes  beheld  his  faithful  Fletcher  following 
his  beloved  master's  bier  in  the  simple  cortege  proceed- 
ing through  the  streets  of  Camden  Town,  in  the  north- 
ern district  of  London.  There  were  very  few  of  his 
former  admirers  present.  Amongst  the  few  could  be 
distinguished  his  bosom-friend,  John  Cam  Hobhouse. 
Most  of  the  elite  who  danced  around  the  poet  during 
his  hours  of  idleness  contented  themselves  on  this 
solemn  occasion  by  sending  their  empty  carriages  —  a 
fitting  representation  of  most  of  the  hearts  who  owned 
them.  With  the  honorable  exceptions,  I  would  say  — 

MEMENTO    MORI. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


"The  best  laid  schemes  o'  mice  an'  men 
Gang  aft  a-gley." 

MY  boon  companion  at  that  time  in  London  was 
a  noble  fellow  of  the  name  of  John  Hay,  whose 
father  was  under-steward  or  grieve  of  the  estate  of 
Richardson  of  Pitfour,  in  the  Carse  of  Cowrie.  John 
was  paying  his  addresses  to  the  handsome  daughter  of 
the  janitor  of  Clement's  Inn  (one  of  the  inns  of  court), 
who  was  well  to  do  in  addition  to  his  good  position, 
and  was  pretty  free  in  giving  nice  little  entertainments 
to  his  numerous  acquaintances  and  friends,  at  which 
Sophie  and  I  were  welcome  guests.  At  one  of  these 
social  gatherings  John  (full  of  fun)  rose  and  gravely 
proposed  that  inasmuch  as  there  were  two  young  men 
present  who  were  daring  enough  to  signify  their  inten- 
tion of  entering  into  the  bonds  of  matrimony,  but  who 
were,  while  yet  free,  desirous  of  visiting  their  native 
land  across  the  Tweed,  that  their  affianced  brides, 
now  also  present,  be  required  to  vouchsafe  their  full, 
untrammeled  consent,  in  the  presence  of  this  company, 
to  the  said  young  men's  absence  for  a  reasonable  time, 
for  that  purpose.  The  acquiescence  obtained,  the 
wherewithal  to  carry  out  the  proposition  became  a 
matter  of  grave  solicitude.  John  had  it.  The  Eliza, 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES.  99 

of  Newburgh,  Captain  James  Pitkethly,  would  be  in 
port  with  a  load  of  Perth  Reds  (the  fashionable  potato 
of  the  day)  and  then  you'll  see  how  glad  he  will  be  to 
find  room  for  us  in  his  good  sloop  Eliza  on  her  passage 
north.  The  Eliza  in  due  time  delivered  her  reds  at  the 
wharf.  A  bargain  was  struck,  and  in  glorious  weather, 
lightly  ballasted,  and  with  hearts  to  match,  we  set  sail 
for  Scotland.  In  a  few  days  we  put  into  Sunderland 
for  a  load  of  coal.  Arriving  off  the  port  too  late  in  the 
evening,  our  signals  were  unperceived  on  the  shore  and 
we  had  to  chop  about  in  the  offing  all  night  with  the 
lights  of  the  tempting  town  on  which  to  cast  our  long- 
ing eyes.  At  early  morn  I  had  the  pleasure  of  steering 
the  Eliza  through  the  arch  of  that  which  was  considered 
the  highest  bridge  in  England  at  that  period.  This 
bridge  was  built  at  the  expense  of  one  Rolland  Bordan, 
who  had  for  years  been  subject  to  great  inconvenience 
in  his  climbing  the  steep,  rocky  banks  of  the  Wear  to 
and  from  his  work.  To  span  this  chasm  by  bridge  be- 
came the  ruling  thought  of  his  mechanical  mind,  but 
continued  poverty  forbade  the  hope  of  ever  becoming 
able  even  to  assist  in  the  accomplishment  of  his  life- 
long desire.  Still,  by  pinching  economy,  he  saved 
enough  of  his  wages  to  enable  him  to  buy  a  sixteenth 
part  of  a  share  in  a  public  lottery,  which  he  did  secretly, 
not  even  letting  his  own  wife  know  anything  of  it,  and 
when  the  glad  tidings  arrived,  announcing  the  fact  that 
Roily  (as  he  was  familiarly  called)  was  enriched  to  the 
extent  of  twenty  thousand  pounds,  she  could  not 
understand  a  word  of  the  half-written,  half-printed 
form  which  proved  the  basis  of  her  husband's  happi- 
ness. She  therefore  called  a  few  of  her  neighbors  in  to 


100  AUTOBIOGBAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

explain,  which  they  did,  coupling  their  explanation  with 
advice  that  the  good  news  should  be  broken  to  Roily 
in  such  a  manner  as  not  to  turn  his  brain,  "  for  indeed 
we  have,"  said  they,  "noticed  of  late  his  blathering 
a  good  deal  about  an  imaginary  brig  across  the  Wear, 
and  in  the  evening  we  will  break  the  tidings  to  him  in 
such  a  manner  as  shall  be  the  least  likely  to  disorder 
the  mental  faculties  of  Roily  Bordan."  Their  plan  was 
approved  by  Mrs.  Bordan.  They  went  on  their  mis- 
sion, met  Roily  at  .the  Mitre  tavern  over  his  beer  and 
pipe,  sat  down  uninvited  to  participate  in  a  social  chat. 
The  object  of  the  visit  of  these  self-elected  delegates 
had  to  be  wormed  out  of  them  by  Roily  himself,  who, 
instead  of  being  excited  by  the  good  news,  was  the 
coolest  in  the  company,  and  asked  all  present  to  fill 
their  glasses  and  drink  a  bumper  with  him.  -  He  had  a 
toast  to  propose.  All  were  charged,  and  now  for  the 
rich  man's  sentiment.  All  eyes  fixed  on  the  hero  of 
the  hour,  he  coolly  rose  from  his  seat,  laid  his  long 
pipe  aside,  scanned  the  well  known  features  of  his  com- 
panions, and  said,  in  the  most  provokingly  dispassionate 
manner:  "  Friends,  here's  better  luck  still,"  a  toast 
which  is  proverbial  in  that  neighborhood  up  to  the 
present  time.  The  crowning  desire  of  Rolly's  long, 
useful  life  was  singularly  verified  in  his  living  to  see 
accomplished  by  the  application  of  means  rendered 
legally  his  own  by  an  unjustifiable  process  of  gambling 
legitimatized  by  the  blind  legislation  of  the  day,  hap- 
pily long  since  ignored.  Laden  with  coal,  the  prow  of 
our  goodly  .craft  was  turned  to  the  scene  of  her  birth, 
and  she  seemed,  by  her  lively  bearing,  to  participate  in 
the  feeling  of  all  on  board,  making  good  the  saying 


OF    DAVID    JOHNSTON.  101 

that  after  a'  there's  nae  place  like  hame.  A  distant 
view  of  the  Bass-rock  and  the  island  of  May  on  our 
larboard  bow,  and  the  classic  Bell-rock  on  our  starboard 
bow,  we  kissed  the  estuary  of  Scotia's  chiefest  river,  the 
Tay,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  eighth  day  from  Lon- 
don we  were  abreast  of  bonny  Dundee,  a  big  fire  in  the 
heart  of  the  town  illuminating  the  scene  at  the  time. 
On  the  following  day  we  left  the  Eliza  safe  where  first 
she  embraced  that  element  on  which  she  proved  an 
ornament  of  utility  and  for  many  years  earned  the 
bread  of  one  of  the  most  respectable  families  in  New- 
burgh.  We  bade  farewell  to  her  kind-hearted,  hospitable 
owner,  Captain  Pitkethly,  for  aye  to  dwell  in  thought, 
but  never  again  in  this  life  to  see.  It  may  indeed  be 
said  and  sung  "  where  the  sweet  waters  meet."  Ferried 
across  the  Tay,  I  was  soon  safely  under  the  roof  of  as 
kind,  warm-hearted  a  family  as  has  ever  been  my  good 
fortune  to  meet.  Mr.  Hay's  cottage  in  the  village  of 
Pitfour  is  sheltered  by  the  elms  of  the  estate  of  his 
employer,  whose  confidence  he  seemed,  as  land-steward, 
to  enjoy.  A  little  beyond  the  meridian  of  life,  may  be 
said  of  both  in  age.  Of  family  they  had  but  two,  John, 
my  friend,  who  had  been  in  London  for  several  years, 
and  James,  who  remained  at  home,  and  who  became 
indispensably  necessary  to  the  country  around  as  a 
contractor  in  carrying  out  agricultural  improvements, 
especially  in  drainage.  The  poet  truly  says :  "  The  best 
laid  schemes  o'  mice  an'  men  gang  aft  a-gley."  Our 
London-formed  programme  we  found  impracticable  at 
the  northern  end. 

It  was  now  three  years  since  my  father  died,  and 
not  having  seen  my  mother  in  the  interim  I  was  too 


102  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL    REMINISCENCES 

anxious  to  remain  in  the  carse  during  the  stipulated 
time  (a  month),  so  we  had  to  rearrange  our  plans,  and 
for  that  purpose  John  accompanied  me  to  Haddington. 
I  found  my  mother  very  feeble,  and  living  alone  in  a 
small  cottage,  happily  close  to  the  house  occupied  by 
Robert  Allan  and  family,  who  looked  after  her  kindly. 
Robert  was  eldest  son  of  her  sister  Mary. 

NORTH   OF   THE   FIRTH. 

I  am  now  seated  on  the  apex  of  the  rising  ground 
of  Raith,  near  Kircaldy,  and  thinking  that : 

Whoe'er  would  view  Edina  to  the  life, 

Must  e'en  surmount  the  classic  hills  of  Fife, 

The  Firth,  embraced  in  all  his  golden  sheen, 

Will  beautify  the  tints  that  intervene. 

The  busy  marts  of  thrift  on  either  shore 

The  limner's  mind  will  ecstasy  the  more. 

The  Bass,  the  Isles  of  May,  Cramond,  Inchkeith, 

Her  ain  ancient  thriving  port  of  Leith, 

Approaching  vessels  looming  through  the  haze 

Her  frowning  fort  with  jealous  eye  surveys; 

The  pier,  O,  Granton!  gift  of  good  Buccleugh, 

The  village  famed  for  fish  and  caller  ou"! 

The  laughing  burn  that  warbles  through  the  Dean, 

Whose  banks  are  rich,  though  unco  sma'  the  stream. 

Sic  points  of  interest  in  harmony  combined 

Elsewhere  it  would  be  difficult  to  find. 

And  now  a  last,  fond  lingering  view  of  the  scenes  of 
my  early  days,  and  turn  to  those  of  a  world  compara- 
tively cold  and  unknown.  These  are  the  finger-posts 
that  force  upon  the  traveler  in  his  weary  passage 
through  life  the  heart-breaking  regrets  of  the  past,  the 
uncertainty  of  the  present  and  the  dark  forebodings  of 
the  future.  A  few  steps  down  the  northern  slope 


OF   DAVID   JOHNSTON".  103 

seemed  to  shut  me  out  from  all  that  was  worth  living 
for  in  this  world.  With  a  heavy  heart  and  foot-sore  I 
walked  across  the  ancient  fertile  kingdom  of  Fife  (22 
miles),  nor  rested  until  I  arrived  at  the  beautiful  loch  of 
Lindores,  a  sweet  spot  which  subsequently  became  very 
dear  to  me  from  kind  friends  in  Chicago,  hailing  from 
Newburgh  and  the  parish  of  Abney  (in  which  this  de- 
lightful sheet  of  water  is  situated).  Waiting  anxiously 
till  dark  for  James  Hay's  boat  to  row  me  over  the  Tay, 
I  then  gave  him  up,  and  finding  there  was  no  ferry 
across  the  Tay  short  of  the  confluence  of  the  Earn 
with  the  Tay,  I  reluctantly  undertook  the  journey, 
which  in  the  darkness  was  no  small  task.  I  had  some 
difficulty  in  getting  through  the  wood,  but  a  great  deal 
more  when  I  did  get  through  it,  for  I  found  Mr.  W., 
the  ferryman,  and  family,  all  asleep,  and  the  door 
guarded  by  a  chained  bull-dog. 

Throwing  up  gravel  against  the  window  for  some 
time  brought  out  a  head  and  shoulders,  with  a  sten- 
torian, Who  is  there?  I  told  him  that  he  had  six  weeks 
ago  put  my  friend  John  Hay  and  myself  across  to 
Pitfour,  and  that  I  particularly  wanted  to  cross  to- 
night, and  I  would  pay  extra  for  his  trouble.  Remind- 
ing me  that  he  charged  nothing  for  the  last  crossing, 
which  was  true,  he  seemed  to  close  the  window  in 
anger,  and  I  suppose,  like  Taylor's  Monsieur  Tonson's 
Frenchman,  essayed  another  snooze  by  bringing  his 
Kilmarnock  cool  in  contact  with  his  pillow.  But  no, 
my  brave  boatman,  emphatically  No!  You  refuse  to 
put  me  across  a  dangerous  stream  in  the  darkest  hour 
of  the  night.  You  keep  your  house  closed  against  the 
stranger  and  virtually  leave  him  to  perish  while  you 


104  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

coolly  seek  repose.  The  drama,  methinks,  would  be 
incomplete  unless  I  played  my  part.  I  thus  solilo- 
quized. With  gravel  in  hand  the  resolve  was  taken 
that  inasmuch  as  I  was  deprived  of  sleep  myself  it 
became  my  part  to  prevent  the  inmates  of  that  anti- 
Scottish,  inhospitable  mansion  from  tasting,  at  least  for 
the  remainder  of  the  night,  "tired  nature's  sweet 
restorer,''  so  up  went  the  gravel.  The  dog,  too,  had  a 
sleepy  spell,  and  slap  went  a  volley  of  sharper  stuff 
right  into  his  kennel,  which  aroused  him  up  to  concert 
pitch  in  a  mighty  quick  time,  and  I  found  in  him  a 
valuable  auxiliary  in  the  concert  up  to  the  close  of  the 
performance.  Peppering  away  at  every  window  of  cham- 
bers wherein  I  thought  nerves  required  tickling,  at  length 
I  heard  the  window  reopen,  and  out  came  the  same 
Kilmarnock  cool  and  the  same  head  and  shoulders, 
but  with  a  fiercer  aspect,  and  asked  in  the  name  of 
his  satanic  majesty  what  I  meant.  I  said,  you  have 
cruelly  deprived  me  of  my  night's  rest  by  refusing  the 
rights  of  a  public  ferry.  You  keep  your  house  closed 
against  me,  a  stranger.  You  rudely  closed  your  win- 
dow when  I  was  about  to  make  a  proposition  which  I 
will  make  now  if  you  will  deign  to  hear  it.  Considera- 
bly appeased,  he  replied,  Well,  what  is  it  ?  It  is  not 
to  retrace  my  steps  through  that  horrid  wood  in  the 
dark,  but  to  scull  myself  over  the  Tay,  only  giving  me 
the  use  of  a  staunch  boat  and  a  good  oar.  Those  you 
shall  have  if  you  like  to  run  the  risk,  he  said,  but  I 
warn  you  of  the  danger  of  the  current,  pointing  in  the 
dark  in  the  direction  in  which  to  find  what  I  wanted, 
and  the  window  was  closed.  The  contending  currents 
of  the  two  rivers  make  the  passage  somewhat  danger- 


OF   DAVID    JOHNSTON.  105 

ous  at  this  point,  rendered  more  so  by  the  peculiar 
position  of  Mugdrum  Island.  The  night  was  so  dark 
that  I  could  not  see  a  boat's  length  from  me,  but  I 
found  land  on  my  starboard  bow,  and  from  my  little 
knowledge  of  the  topography  of  the  spot  saw  that  I  had 
drifted  out  of  my  course  and  was  gliding  down  the  cur- 
rent of  the  Tay  between  the  carse  and  the  island,  which, 
if  not  early  discovered,  would  have  by  daylight  led  me 
into  immense  labor  to  recover  lost  ground.  But  thanks 
to  my  early  nautical  experience  I  was  enabled  to  redeem 
my  false  position,  and  with  an  extra  hour's  hard  scull- 
ing against  the  stream  landed  safely  on  the  Pitfour 
estate.  I  confess  to  having  entertained,  in  the  evil 
spirit  of  retaliation,  a  notion  of  turning  the  old  man's 
boat  adrift,  but  a  moment's  reflection  brought  back  the 
better  feeling,  and  I  moored  her  as  arranged  to  a  tree. 
Traveling  over  three  fields  and  climbing  over  fences 
terminated  a  day's  journey  such. as  I  hope  never  again 
to  undergo. 

To  my  agreeable  astonishment  I  found  the  whole  of 
the  Hay  family  up  and  waiting  my  arrival,  with  supper 
steaming  hot.  They  had  received  my  letter  at  an  hour 
too  late  to  enable  Jamie  to  get  to  Newburgh  in  time 
with  his  boat,  and  took  for  granted  I  would  reach  Pit- 
four  by  the  very  means  which  I  had  adopted,  little 
dreaming  of  the  misery  brought  about  by  the  lateness  of 
the  hour  and  the  obdurate  old  sleepy  Charon.  How- 
ever, thank  God,  that  is  all  over,  and  the  cheering  effect 
of  one  hour  of  the  hospitality  of  the  Hays  of  Pitfour 
suffices  to  obliterate  the  remembrance  of  anything  un- 
pleasant in  reaching  it.  I  had  not  long  enjoyed  it 
before  I  discovered  that  John's  letter  to  Haddington 


106  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL    REMINISCENCES 

was  a  ruse,  for,  as  braw  a  toon  as  Lonun  is,  there  was 
no  desire  manifested  in  Pitfour  to  get  to  it.  On  the 
contrary,  there  were  a  thousand  and  one  things  to  be 
attended  to  before  London  could  be  thought  of. 
Hadn't  we  to  see  the  lions  of  Dundee,  its  kirks,  its 
docks,  its  bonnet  hill,  its  factories,  shops,  and  the  bonny 
house  of  Duncan's  at  the  Magdalene,  and,  above  all, 
the  ride  through  the  carse  of  Cowrie.  Our  friends  at 
Errol,  too,  demand  a  day.  Then  the  view  from  the  hill 
of  Kinnoul  must  not  be  omitted,  not  even  the  old 
home  of  the  Richardsons,  nor  Camperdown,  the  seat  of 
our  naval  hero,  Lord  Duncan,  and  to  leave  the  fair  city 
of  Perth  and  the  royal  palace  of  Scone  unscanned 
would  simply  be  unpardonable.  And  then  the  Earn, 
Sir  David  Moncreiff' s,  and  the  brig  of  Earn,  and  Aber- 
nethy,  with  its  Pictish  tower.  To  omit  the  fair  at 
Abernethy  cannot  be  thought  of.  There  you  will 
find  a  gathering  of  the  most  antique,  grotesquely  hab- 
ited people  that  is  to  be  found,  I  believe,  in  the  world. 
"  This  is  all  very  well,  John,  indeed,  it's  grand,"  said  I, 
"  but  what  says  the  belle  of  Clement's  inn  to  it?  Do 
you  enjoy  a  London  epistle  occasionally,  as  I  do  ?  If 
so,  I  presume  the  tenor  of  them  are  pretty  similar 
regarding  these  two  Scotch  runaways." 

"  You  are  right,"  said  John,  "  and  I  must  say  that 
under  the  chastening  rod  of  one  of  these  epistles  I 
wrote  you  that  letter,  and  felt  as  I  wrote,  but  now 
regret  being  the  instrument  of  tearing  you  away  so 
abruptly  from  your  folks  in  Haddington,  particularly 
your  aged  mother.  Now  we  are  here  I  feel  like  taking 
a  few  more  days  in  this  blessed  country  before  we 
unscotch  ourselves  by  returning  to  that  degrading 


OF    DAVID    JOHNSTON.  107 

slavery  which  is  involved  in  the  life  of  a  journeyman 
baker  in  London." 

John's  eloquence  I  never  could  withstand.  On  the 
present  occasion  I  was  reminded  of  Ingomar's  two 
hearts  beating  with  one  pulsation.  So  that  whatever 
had  been  cut  and  dried  we  had  to  do,  and  two  weeks 
were  most  agreeably  spent  in  getting  through  the  pro- 
gramme, when  we  bade  farewell  to  the  bonny  carse  o' 
Gowrie  and  took  our  berths  on  board  of  a  London 
smack  at  Dundee,  and  in  five  days  were  sailing  on  the 
bosom  of  old  Father  Thames,  landed  safely  near  the 
Tower  stairs,  and  spent  the  evening  at  a  friend's  house 
in  Holywell  street,  Westminster.  We  found  our  in- 
tended brides  respectively  in  good  health,  and  in  both 
cases  the  course  of  true  love  running  (strange  to  say) 
unexceptionably  smooth. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 


LONDON. 

"  Each  year  to  ancient  friendship  adds  a  ring  as  to  an  oak,  more 
and  more  precious  without  the  aid  of  any  merit  of  our  own." 

TO  resume  such  labor  as  falls  to  the  lot  of  a  jour- 
neyman baker  in  London  after  so  delightful  and 
extended  a  season  of  recreation  I  own  was  rather  irk- 
some to  me.  But  necessity  has  no  law,  and  our  respect- 
ive characters  were  such  as  to  remove  all  obstacles  in 
finding  employment  in  the  metropolis,  and  our  ex- 
chequer pretty  low,  so  we  stripped  to  the  inevitable. 
John  went  to  work  near  Pentonville,  I  in  Millbank 
street,  Westminster.  In  my  employer,  Mr.  Archibald 
Michie,  I  found  the  most  extraordinary  man  it  had 
ever  been  my  lot  to  meet.  He  was  a  student,  a 
deep  thinker,  in  fact,  a  practical  philosopher.  In  later 
years  I  never  read  Carlyle  or  any  other  luminary  in  the 
field  of  letters  but  my  mind  was  involuntarily  carried 
back  to  that  Aberdonian  sage.  The  only  blemish  I 
could  discover  in  him  was  what  in  my  maturer  years  I 
have  been  led  to  deem  his  chiefest  attribute,  his  disci- 
pline, which  I  then  thought  partook  somewhat  too  much 
of  the  tight  disciplinarian  to  be  tolerated,  and  actually 
was  the  means  of  severing  a  year's  relationship  which 
was  both  pleasurable  and  profitable  to  me.  His  public 

108 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES.  109 

character  is  well  worthy  of  imitation,  and  I  make  men- 
tion of  one  effort  of  his  which  resulted  in  much  good  to 
the  community: 

Previous  to  the  county  court  system  of  reform,  in 
the  adjudication  of  small  debts  there  existed  a  court 
called  the  court  of  requests,  an  institution  of  antiquity 
and  of  corresponding  abuse.  The  accumulating  funds 
were  manipulated  by  commissioners  in  a  very  unsatis- 
factory manner  for  years,  bidding  defiance  to  the  press 
and  others  who  dared  to  counsel  investigation.  At 
length  Mr.  Michie  undertook  to  cleanse  the  Augean 
stable  single-handed.  After  struggling  for  years 
against  all  odds,  among  whom  were  many  lawyers  of 
ability  whose  interest  made  them  inimical  to  any 
change,  to  the  satisfaction  and  advantage  of  a  discern- 
ing public,  succeeded.  Mr.  Michie  may  justly  be  said 
to  be  the  originator  of  the  county  court  system  now 
prevailing.  Cautioned  against  living  with  and  working 
for  this  gentleman,  for  the  reason  that  in  all  his  domes- 
tic matters  his  discipline  was  such  that  no  man  could 
conform  to  it  long,  my  answer  was  that  I  should  like 
to  live  with  a  disciplinarian  in  order  to  acquire  a  little 
knowledge  of  that  quality,  the  lack  of  which  has  been 
the  bane  of  my  whole  life.  I  took  my  own  course  and 
became  so  much  attached  to  my  employer  that  the 
feelings  of  respect  and  admiration  ultimately  partook 
of  the  character  of  a  species  of  hero  worship.  During 
the  twelve  months  I  lived  with  Mr.  Michie  the  nation 
was  thrown  into  mourning  by  the  death  of  the  king, 
George  the  Fourth,  who  died  in  Windsor  Cottage  in 
1830.  Some  scandal  arose  from  the  fact  that  the  Mar- 
chioness of  Conynghame,  against  the  popular  preju- 


110  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

dice,  persisted  in  remaining  at  the  cottage  to  nurse  the 
king  till  his  last  breath.  There  were  those  who  scouted 
the  idea  of  impropriety  on  the  part  of  the  Marchioness. 
Among  such  I  think  it  proper  to  make  mention  that 
Sophia's  mother,  Mrs.  Jones,  who  lived  many  years  in 
the  family  of  the  Marquis  of  Conynghame  and  nursed 
their  son,  Lord  Mount  Charles,  bore  testimony  that  all 
the  years  she  was  in  the  family  she  never  heard  the 
breath  of  scorn  advanced  against  the  lady.  Mrs. 
Grainger  lost  her  husband  while  in  the  service  of  that 
family,  and  while  yet  Mount  Charles  was  in  infancy,  and 
at  the  urgent  request  of  the  Marchioness,  while  the 
Marquis  was  raising  a  regiment  for  the  service  of  the 
crown,  was  induced  to  remain  in  an  easy  and  comforta- 
ble position.  The  widow's  weeds  were  scarcely  doffed 
when  the  serene  decorum  of  Mr.  Jones,  himself  a  wid- 
ower and  many  years  butler  of  the  castle,  got  so 
bewildered  by  daily  contact  with  the  smiling  counte- 
nance of  the  buxom  widow  that  it  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  the  Marchioness,  and  as  match-making  formed 
one  of  the  most  successful  features  of  her  ladyship's  pas- 
time the  opportunity  could  not  be  passed  unembraced, 
so  that  in  due  time  the  mansion  rung  with  joy  at  the 
changing  a  Scottish  name  for  that  of  a  Welsh  one.  The 
couple  desired  to  leave,  but  the  heads  of  the  house  met 
the  proposition  with  an  emphatic  veto,  the  marquis  say- 
ing: "  We  must  not  leave  our  work  half  done.  With 
your  kind  co-operation  we  have  accomplished  much;  a 
little  more  exertion  and  we  shall  secure  the  complement 
of  men  necessary,  and  then  think  of  the  glory  of  pre- 
senting our  noble  king  with  as  splendid  a  regiment  of 
Irishmen  as  ever  fought  under  the  flag  of  the  three 


OF    DAVID    JOHNSTON.  Ill 

united  kingdoms.  Stay  and  return  to  London  with  us, 
and  share  our  laurels,  a  share  to  which  you  are  justly 
entitled.  I  am  not  insensible  to  the  popularizing  effect 
of  what  I  often  deemed  an  impertinent  interference 
with  the  maintenance  of  discipline.  I  now  see  that, 
deprived  of  your  active  humanity,  the  recruiting  ser- 
geant would  have  perambulated  in  vain." 

Mrs.  Jones  grew  gray  in  the  Conynghame  family,  but 
not  so  with  Mr.  Jones,  who,  in  about  a  year  after  their 
marriage,  was  taken  down  with  a  fever  that  baffled  the 
best  skill  within  reach,  and  died  about  fifty  years  of 
age,  very  much  respected.  He  left  his  widow,  who  was 
about  forty,  some  property,  which  was  judiciously  in- 
vested, and  on  the  proceeds  of  which  she  and  her  daugh- 
ter Sophia  frugally  lived.  Anything  occurring  to  disturb 
the  relationship  between  my  employer  and  myself  I 
thought  impossible,  but  after  twelve  months'  smooth 
sailing  the  sunken  rock  was  struck  at  last.  One  Satur- 
day evening  I  left  the  shop  at  seven  o'clock  for  Somers 
Town,  a  good  hour's  walk,  and  leaving  Sophia  at  forty- 
five  minutes  past  nine,  being  fatigued,  an  hour  and  a 
quarter  was  consumed  in  the  transit.  I  arrived  at  Mr. 
Michie's  door  as  the  clock  at  Lambeth  Palace  was 
striking  eleven.  The  door  was  closed.  I  looked  through 
the  key-hole  and  there  saw  Mr.  Michie  standing  with  a 
lighted  candle  in  his  hand,  which  he  instantly  blew  out. 
I  knocked  again  and  again,  but  no  answer.  I  asked 
through  the  key-hole  if  he  intended  to  let  me  in.  No 
answer.  The  wind  was  high  and  cold,  and  I  then  told 
him  that  it  was  very  bad  treatment,  but  it  was  the  last 
time  he  should  have  the  power  of  closing  his  door 
against  me  on  a  Saturday  night.  I  was  glad  to  take 


112  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    AND    REMINISCENCES 

shelter  in  a  public  house  in  the  neighborhood,  but  sleep 
I  could  not.  In  the  morning  I  made  my  appearance 
for  work.  We  met.  Calm  generally  follows  the  storm, 
but  in  this  case  we  had  the  calm  first,  then  came  the 
storm : 

DIALOGUE:  "Why  did  you  break  the  rule  last 
night  that  you  have  kept  so  well?"  "Sir,  I  beg  your 
pardon  ;  you  broke  the  rule,  and  that  in  a  heartless 
manner,  not  I.  But  you  cannot  again  act  so  inhos- 
pitably to  me,  for  I  will  never  make  application  to  get 
into  your  house  again."  "  Do  you  mean  to  say  that 
you  give  up  your  place  ?"  "  I  did  not  say  that,  but  if 
my  situation  as  your  foreman  depends  on  the  ridiculous 
Saturday  night  rule,  our  relationship  terminates  next 
Saturday."  He  seemed  chagrined  at  the  result.  Each 
was  too  proud  to  yield,  but  in  the  course  of  the  week 
he  seemed  more  considerate,  and  on  Friday  he  conde- 
scended to  ask  if  it  was  my  intention  to  leave  on  the 
morrow.  I  told  him  I  had  no  desire  to  leave  a  place  I 
liked  so  well. 

"Then,  if  you'll  stay,  I  will  raise  your  wages  two  shil- 
lings a  week,  but  of  course  you  must  comply  with  my 
rules."  In  vain  I  told  him  that  the  lady  I  visited  was 
respectable,  and  that  she  was  about  to  become  my  wife, 
and  that  the  only  evening  we  could  be  together  was 
Saturday,  and  to  be  dragged  away  from  one  you  love 
simply  to  comply  with  a  rule  that  should  be  more  dis- 
criminating, and  which  amounts  in  my  case  to  cruelty, 
and  therefore  not  entitled  to  respect.  I  was  sorry  to 
perceive  that  the  last  remark  hurt  the  feelings  of  the 
man  whom  I  esteemed  as  a  benefactor.  We  parted 
kindly,  but  parted  in  sorrow.  I  was  gratified  to  find 


OF   DAVID   JOHNSTON.  113 

that  my  leaving  was  approved  of  by  Mrs.  Jones,  who 
for  the  first  time  inquired  into  my  prospects  in  the 
immediate  future.  I  informed  her  that  at  the  death  of 
my  mother  I  should  be  put  into  possession  of  two  hun- 
dred pounds,  but  that  the  interim  was  gloomy.  She 
then,  to  my  astonishment,  said  that  if  so  small  a  sum  as 
two  hundred  pounds  could  be  made  available  of  get- 
ting me  into  business,  I  could  have  that  amount  to- 
morrow. In  thanking  her  for  such  a  munificent  offer 
I  said,  I  think  it  might  be  well  to  look  around  fora  few 
days  and  consult  the  columns  of  the  Times.  A  week 
had  not  elapsed  when  the  business  of  Mr.  Fair,  of 
Holywell  street,  Westminster,  was  advertised  for  sale. 
To  ascertain  the  true  value  of  a  business  a  few  days  are 
required  to  investigate.  In  doing  so  I  had  to  pass  Mr. 
Michie's  shop.  One  day  he  called  me  in  and  asked  if 
it  were  true  that  I  possessed  the  sum  of  two  hundred 
pounds  and  that  I  was  taking  steps  to  throw  it  away  ? 
In  answer  to  his  inquiries,  seeing  that  he  was  actuated 
by  a  desire  to  serve  me,  I  unbosomed  myself.  Then 
he  gave  me  to  understand  the  true  value  of  character, 
and  was  pleased  to  say  that  my  character,  backed  with 
the  amount  of  cash  in  hand,  would  command  the  good 
will  of  a^y  business  in  town  to  the  extent  of  a  thousand 
pounds.  Even  now  there  is  in  the  market  a  business  in 
Peckham  worthy  of  your  notice.  You  may  step  over 
there  now  and  give  my  compliments  to  Mrs.  Wighton, 
and  offer  her  seven  hundred  pounds  for  the  unexpired 
twelve  years  of  her  twenty-one  years'  lease.  Entirely 
ignorant  of  the  means  to  be  employed  in  raising  a  sum 
so  far  beyond  my  present  capacity,  I  ventured  a  query, 
which  was  met  by,  "  Do  as  I  tell  you,  and  lose  no  time." 


114  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

Born  to  command,  his  fiat  is  law.  In  obedience  to  this 
mysterious  dictum  I  found  myself  on  Tanner's  coach 
to  Peckham,  and  presently  in  contact  with  a  fine  busi- 
ness lady,  Mrs.  Wighton. 

DIALOGUE:  "I  am  informed  the  good  will  of  this 
business  is  for  sale.  Are  you  authorized  to  treat  with  a 
bidder?"  "  I  am."  (The  reader  is  informed  that  the 
price  of  a  business  of  this  kind  in  London  is  mainly 
gauged  by  the  number  of  sacks  of  flour  consumed  per 
week,  each  sack  containing  280  pounds.)  "  How  many 
sacks?"  "Eight."  "  Length  of  lease?"  "Twelve 
years  to  run."  "Price?"  "Eight  hundred  pounds." 
"  That's  high.  Won't  you  take  less  ?  "  "I  would  rather 
have  more,"  she  said  ;  "  but  Mr.  Wighton  put  the  price 
down  low  in  consequence  of  the  distance  between  here 
and  his  new  business  at  Chelsea."  "  If  you  will  allow 
me  to  examine  your  books  I  will  make  you  an  offer." 
"  Certainly,  there  are  the  books,"  which  I  found  straight, 
and  on  the  strength  of  this  I  offered  seven  hundred 
pounds.  This  would  not  do,  and  it  required  all  of  two 
minutes  to  dock  the  price  to  the  extent  of  fifty  pounds, 
and  ten  more  minutes  for  the  cleverest  woman  in  busi- 
ness I  had  ever  met,  to  handsomely  tumble  down  to  my 
terms. 

On  reporting  progress  to  my  mentor  I  waited 
instructions  for  the  second  act  in  the  drama,  but  hadn't 
long  to  wait.  "You  want  to  raise  five  hundred  pounds, 
for  I  take  it  for  granted  the  terms  of  your  offer  are 

cash.  You  will  therefore  meet  Mr. ,  the  miller,  at 

the  Bridge  House  Hotel,  Blackfriars,  to-morrow,  at  two 
o'clock."  Ten  minutes  anterior  to  that  hour  I  stood 
before  a  man  in  livery,  who  obsequiously  asked  my  busi- 


OF   DAVID   JOHNSTON.  115 

ness.  On  being  informed  he  seated  me  in  a  handsome 
parlor,  saying  Mr. would  be  present  in  five  min- 
utes. Punctually  the  presence  of  Mr. was  felt  as 

well  as  seen. 

DIALOGUE:  "Your  name  is  David  Johnston,  I  be- 
lieve?" "Yes,  sir."  "And  you  want  to  borrow  five 
hundred  pounds-of  me,  do  you  not?"  "  I  really  don't 
know,  sir.  Mr.  Michie  requested  me  to  seek  an  inter- 
view with  you,  and  it  is  true  that  I  stand  in  need  of 
that  sum  to  enable  me  to  complete  the  purchase  of  a 
business  in  Peckham."  "That  is  just  like  Michie. 
What  security  have  you  to  offer  for  the  loan  of  five 
hundred  pounds  ?  "  "I  have  no  security  to  offer."  "If 
I  should  lend  you  that  sum,  at  five  per  cent  interest, 
how  do  you  intend  to  pay  it  back  ?  "  "As  soon  as  I  can 
in  order  to  get  rid  of  the  interest."  "Any  objection  to 
leave  the  lease  with  me  while  you  are  under  the 
obligation?"  "  None  whatever."  "  Or  to  insure  your 
life  for  that  sum?"  "None."  "When  do  you  want 
this  money  ?  "  "  We  have  arranged  with  Mrs.  Wighton 
to  take  possession  on  the  day  following  my  wedding, 
which  will  take  place  at  St.  Pancras  Church  on  Mon- 
day next.  I  should  like  the  money  on  the  day  of  taking 
possession."  "You  shall  have  it.  Good-day;  I  wish 
you  joy,  and  prosperity  in  business." 

On  the  following  Monday  was  duly  solemnized,  in 
New  St.  Pancras  Church,  New  Road,  the  rites  of  mar- 
riage between  David  Johnston  and  Sophia  Grainger,  and 
on  the  day  following  we  took  possession  of  a  home  in 
which  we  spent  our  honeymoon.  I  may  say,  indeed, 
that  the  cream  of  my  existence  was  spent  in  Peckham, 
of  which  more  anon. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 


IN  1831  I  mingled  in  the  gaping  crowd  to  see  the  Sailor 
King  (in  the  habit  of  an  admiral)  and  his  Queen 
Adelaide  open  that  noble  structure  of  Scotch  granite, 
New  London  Bridge,planned  and  constructed  by  an  East 
Lothian  man  (Sir  John  Rennie).  The  scene  was  one  of 
grandeur  and  magnificence.  The  Thames  was  literally 
covered  with  boats  of  all  kinds  and  dimensions,  each 
having  its  stem  and  stern  adorned  with  gay  flags  and 
streamers,  and  filled  with  folks  in  their  richest  apparel. 
Among  the  notables  present  on  that  occasion  (men 
who  had  done  their  state  some  service,  but  who  are 
now  all  in  their  graves)  it  was  easy  to  distinguish  the 
hero  of  a  thousand  fights,  the  Iron  Duke,  his  brother- 
in-anns,  the  Marquis  of  Anglesea,  Earl  Grey,  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  Lord  Mayor  of  London, 
accompanied  by  all  the  civic  officers  in  official  garbs 
and  barges,  and  the  representatives  of  the  Admiralty 
and  Trinity  House,  and  to  complete  the  scene  the  old, 
gray,  antique  Tower  of  London,  all  the  public  buildings 
and  the  spires  of  all  the  churches  were  adorned  with 
flags.  In  1832,  under  the  auspices  of  England's  most 
consistent  reformer,  Lord  John  Russell,  the  controversy 
of  nearly  thirty  years  on  the  subject  of  reform  of  par- 
liament took  the  shape  of  a  bill,  whose  every  schedule 
was  severely  scrutinized  in  and  out  of  parliament, 
and  ultimately  became  law,  followed  by  similar  meas- 

116 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES.  117 

ures  for  Scotland  and  Ireland,  whereby  large  cities 
were  enfranchised  and  privileged  rotten  boroughs  cut 
off.  Then  came  in  quick  succession  reform  in  every  de- 
partment of  the  state.  First  on  the  list  was  the  repeal 
of  the  test  and  corporation  acts,  which  had  so  long  dis- 
graced the  annals  of  British  legislation.  The  strength 
attained  by  the  popular  powers  by  these  measures  was 
sensibly  felt  through  every  class  of  society.  Even  the 
king,  from  outward  pressure,  felt  himself  under  the  dis- 
agreeable necessity  of  taking  into  his  counsels  the  dis- 
tinguished leaders  of  the  distasteful  opposition,  prom- 
inent among  whom  was  Brougham,  who,  by  virtue  of 
his  appointment  as  Lord  Chancellor,  became  the  keeper 
of  the  conscience  of  the  very  man  who  at  an  earlier  day 
he  stigmatized  in  open  court  as  a  royal  slanderer.  The 
Duke  of  Newcastle,  too,  was  practically  made  to  under- 
stand that  he  could  not  do  as  he  liked  with  what  he 
was  pleased  to  call  his  own.  His  rotten  boroughs  had 
to  share  the  fate  of  that  which  formed  the  most  profit- 
able feature  of  a  .£60,000  purchase  made  by  Sir 
Mark  Wood,  who  in  his  place  in  the  Commons  had  the 
audacity  to  ask  the  house  if  it  considered  it  fair  to  de- 
prive him  of  the  privilege  of  returning  two  members  to 
parliament  through  the  instrumentality  of  a  constitu- 
ency of  seven  voters,  some  of  whom  were  his  own 
servants.  About  this  time  the  altered  tariff  pressed 
heavily  on  the  West  India  interest,  and  that  which  the 
philanthropy  and  eloquence  of  Clarkson,  Wilberforce 
and  others  failed  to  do  was  accomplished  easily  on 
touching  the  pocket.  The  moment  that  Jamacia 
planters  and  those  of  other  islands  found  their  estates 
had  ceased  to  be  self-sustaining,  and  their  slaves  an 


118  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

absolute  burden,  they  were  willing  to  negotiate  with 
the  government  for  a  bonus.  The  generosity  of  Eng- 
land is  proverbial,  but  this  virtue  is  not  always  exercised 
with  prudence.  The  efforts  of  the  people  of  the 
united  kingdoms  are  patent  to  the  world  in  behalf  of 
human  freedom.  But  saddling  a  willing  people  with  a 
debt  of  twenty  million  pounds  for  an  article  which  had 
outlived  its  usefulness  was,  to  say  the  least,  sharp  prac- 
tice, but  dwelling  on  the  price  that  breaks  the  galling 
chain  of  slavery  is  like  looking  a  gift-horse  in  the 
mouth.  The  blessing  of  freedom  is  so  far  beyond  all 
estimated  value  that  the  lopsided  bargain  was  soon 
overlooked  in  the  idea  that  now  England,  said  to  be 
the  land  of  freedom,  is  no  longer  a  political  falsity. 
Throughout  the  extensive  dominions  of  Great  Britain 
the  same  immunity  exists  as  pertained  for  centuries  to 
her  own  sacred  soil,  which  to  tread  on  was  to  turn  links 
of  steel  to  gossamer.  The  increased  power  of  the  pop- 
ular branA  of  the  government  began  to  be  felt  in  high 
places.  The  sages  of  Threadneedle  street  and  Leaden- 
hall  street,  and  those  of  minor  monopolies,  had  to  put 
their  respective  houses  in  order  when  the  sound  of  the 
besom  of  reform  was  heard  at  their  thresholds.  Joint- 
stock  banking  companies  became  admissible,  and  the 
legion  of  tea-sippers  throughout  the  kingdom  soon 
found  that  to  go  to  London  for  a  continued  supply  of 
their  favorite  beverage  was  no  longer  necessary.  The 
Oriental  trade  being  thrown  open,  and  a  free  intercourse 
between  the  principal  ports  of  Great  Britain  and  those 
of  the  East,  had  the  natural  effect  of  augmenting  the 
mercantile  marine  to  an  enormous  extent,  with  all  its 
concomitant  advantages. 


OF   DAVID   JOHNSTON.  119 

Catholic  emancipation  now  became  the  all-engross- 
ing subject  for  legislation.  Its  great  and  able  advo- 
cate, Daniel  O'Connell,  had  spoken  too  freely  at  a  mass 
meeting  of  his  followers,  which  led  to  his  incarceration 
in  Kilmainham  jail.  This  event  greatly  increased  his 
popularity,  leading  to  his  election  to  serve  in  parlia- 
ment for  County  Clare.  The  form  of  swearing  against 
his  religion  he  indignantly  resented,  whereupon  the 
seat  for  County  Clare  was  declared  vacant,  and  new 
writs  issued.  Mr.  O'Connell  was  re-elected  by  the 
same  constituency,  and  the  farce  in  the  Commons 
re-enacted,  with  the  additional  feature  of  his  declaring 
to  the  speaker  on  vacating  his  seat  that  the  day  is  not 
distant  when  he,  the  speaker,  shall  be  by  the  voice  of 
the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland 
stripped  of  the  power  of  removing  him  from  this,  his 
legitimate  place  in  representing  County  Clare  in  Parlia- 
ment. In  the  meantime  O'Connell  was  gaining  ground 
rapidly.  He  had  all  the  manufacturing  towns  in  England 
with  him.  Even  Scotland,  slow  to  move  in  that  direc- 
tion, was  awakened  by  his  eloquence  and  his  happy 
handling  of  statistics.  On  one  occasion  eighty  thousand 
people  assembled  on  the  Calton  Hill,  Edinburgh,  to  lis- 
ten to  his  powerful  arguments  on  behalf  of  his  down- 
trodden fellow-countrymen.  The  King  in  his  weak  ter- 
giversation had  recourse  to  the  assistance  of  his  Tory 
friends,  Sir  Robert  Peel  and  the  Duke  of  Wellington, 
to  form  a  ministry,  which,  when  formed,  astonished  the 
world  by  its  humiliating  admission  that  it  found  two 
grave  evils  to  contend  against,  the  alternative  being 
between  anarchy  and  bloodshed  on  the  one  hand,  and 
on  the  other  Catholic  emancipation,  and  it  became 


120  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES. 

the  duty  of  his  majesty's  ministers  to  choose  the  less  of 
the  two  evils.  It  therefore  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  Tory 
party  to  submit  a  measure  to  parliament  which  stulti- 
fied all  the  principles  involved  in  the  most  active  political 
and  polemical  opposition  on  record.  But  consistency 
is  a  jewel  which  is  seldom  found  ornamenting  the 
career  of  the  politician. 

The  power  of  the  landed  interest  now  became  the 
subject  of  general  investigation.  The  tax  on  the  work- 
ingman's  loaf  had  to  be  considered.  The  trimming 
enactments  and  sliding  scales  of  the  lords  of  the  soil 
had  at  length  nauseated  the  nation,  and  under  the 
auspices  of  Richard  Cobden,  John  Bright,  Doctor 
Bowring  and  many  others  an  anti-corn-law  league 
was  formed  at  Manchester,  whose  branches  ramified 
throughout  the  kingdom,  and  from  whose  councils 
written  arguments  by  the  ton  weight  were  scattered 
broadcast  over  the  land  and  rewards  offered  for  the 
best  essays  on  effects  of  the  corn  law  on  divers  inter- 
ests, one  of  which  deserves  particular  notice,  viz.,  The 
best  written  essay  on  the  effects  of  existing  corn  laws 
on  the  farming  interests  of  the  land. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


The  laird  o'  Cockpen,  he's  proud  and  he's  great, 
His  mind  was  ta'en  up  wi'  affairs  o'  the  State, 
He  wanted  a  wife  his  braw  hoose  to  keep, 
But  favor  wi'  wooin'  was  fashions  to  seek. 

THE  prize  of  one  hundred  guineas  for  the  best 
written  essay  on  the  effects  of  the  corn  law  on 
the  interest  of  the  farmer  rewarded  the  pen  of  Mr. 
Hope,  of  Fenton  Barns,  an  eminent  farmer  of  East 
Lothian.  The  eyes  of  the  practical  farmers  through- 
out the  nation  were  opened  by  this  fine  essay,  which 
was  chosen  from  among  a  great  number  of  able  com- 
petitors. They  were  made  to  see  the  fallacy  so  gen- 
erally entertained  that  the  restrictive  measures  then  in 
force  were  conducive  to  their  interest.  At  this  time 
the  meetings  of  the  league  were  frequently  disturbed 
by  the  chartists,  who,  for  a  season,  at  least,  seemed  to 
endeavor  to  un-English  themselves  by  an  obstructive 
policy.  To  illustrate  the  mode  of  their  petty  annoy- 
ance a  case  may  be  given.  The  Peckham  branch  of  the 
league  published  a  desire  to  convene  a  meeting  in  sup- 
port of  the  movement  then  under  the  auspices  of 
Richard  Cobden.  This  call  was  responded  to  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  warrant  them  in  securing  a  very  large 
hall  for  the  purpose.  They  engaged  that  of  the  Horns 
Tavern,  Kennington  Common.  The  object  •  of  the 
meeting  was  duly  advertised  in  all  the  London  dailies. 
The  chair  was  occupied  by  the  venerable  Mr.  Warbur- 

121 


122  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

ton,  father  of  the  House  of  Commons,  supported  by 
a  phalanx  of  excellent  talent.  The  meeting  had  not 
been  well  organized  when  the  two  main  entrances  to 
the  hall  were  simultaneously  burst  open,  and  the  aisles 
filled  with  fierce,  unbidden  guests,  who  made  for  the 
platform,  hustled  the  old  gentleman  out  of  the  chair 
and  many  of  the  committee  (of  which  I  happened 
to  be  one)  from  off  the  elevated  platform,  and 
coolly  proceeded  to  elect  a  chairman  and  secretary 
of  their  own.  They  forced  upon  the  meeting  a 
programme  of  resolutions  on  the  five  points  of  the 
charter,  whereupon  some  few,  disgusted  with  the  in- 
terruption, rose  in  the  body  of  the  meeting  to  retire, 
when  in  a  voice  far  beyond  his  years  Mr.  Warburton 
-requested  every  man  to  keep  his  seat,  saying,  "We 
have  now  a  double  duty  to  perform,  not  only  to  pass 
these  resolutions,  placed  in  the  hands  of  those  in  whom 
you  have  long  held  your  confidence,  in  support  of  a  cause 
for  which,  with  our  own  money,  we  hired  this  room, 
but  to  remain  to  master  this  cowardly  tumult,  and  put 
the  blush  of  shame  on  the  countenance  of  their  shame- 
less leaders;"  all  of  which  at  a  late  hour  was  thoroughly 
accomplished.  The  chartists  made  sad  havoc  of  their 
cause  by  counseling  overt  acts,  in  the  employment  of 
physical  force,  and  in  impertinent  interference  with 
other  movements.  Several  of  their  leaders  were  incar- 
cerated for  intemperate  language  used  at  public  meet- 
ings. 

The  Scottish  chartists  were  under  the  more  temper- 
ate guidance  of  Sir  David  Brewster,  and  when  that 
gentleman,  at  the  head  of  the  Scottish  chartists,  met  a 
delegation  from  England  in  quest  of  his  co-operation  he 


OF   DAVID   JOHNSTON.  123 

settled  the  matter  in  a  short  speech,  in  which  he  thanked 
their  English  friends  for  their  courtesy,  and  directed 
"  all  those  of  this  great  meeting  of  chartists  who  are 
of  opinion  that  physical  force  should  be  employed 
in  the  attainment  of  our  object  to  remain  stationary, 
and  those  who  believe  that  moral  suasion  only  should 
be  used  as  the  most  efficacious  means  of  accomplish- 
ing all  we  desire  from  the  legislature  will  take  their 
position  on  yonder  eminence,  whither  I  shall  in  a  few 
minutes  repair  myself."  The  latter  section  being  largely 
in  the  majority  rendered  the  mission  of  the  delegates 
nugatory.  The  monster  petition  to  parliament  for  the 
charter  became  the  theme  of  the  hour.  This  petition, 
when  matured,  was  to  be  presented  by  the  leader, 
Fergus  O'Connor,  in  person,  backed  by  thousands  in 
procession,  for  which  purpose  a  monster  meeting  was 
convened  on  Kennington  Common,  and  while  the  gov- 
ernment in  its  alarm  was  employing  military  means  to 
intercept  the  threatened  demonstrations  in  the  city 
the  more  lawless  portion  of  the  meeting,  to  amuse 
themselves,  made  a  raid  on  the  trading  people  of 
Camberwell,  and  cleaned  out  the  stores  in  Rosemary 
Branch  lane  of  a  class  who  could  ill  afford  to  lose 
anything,  while  the  more  wealthy  and  better  protected 
class  were  arming  themselves  to  face  the  raiders.  But 
this  raid,  like  the  great  body  of  which  it  formed  a  dis- 
reputable part,  proved  a  miserable  fizzle.  The  petition 
had  to  be  presented  in  like  manner  with  those  of  less 
dimensions,  stripped  of  all  semblance  of  intimidation. 
Since  the  death  of  O'Connor  we  hear  but  little  of  the 
charter,  nor  does  it  appear  necessary,  its  leading  points 
all  falling  within  the  range  of  ordinary  legislation. 


124  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

In  returning  to  my  desolate  home  it  gives  me  pleas- 
ure to  record  the  ameliorating  influence  of  Mrs.  Ander- 
son, a  distant  relation,  herself  chastened  by  misfortune. 
She  was  the  daughter  of  Anthony  Wilkinson,  my 
mother's  cousin,  who  was  an  eccentric  worshiper  of  the 
antique.  When  he  had  acquired  enough  to  retire  from 
his  fine  business  (the  sign  of  Prince  of  Wales'  Feathers) 
in  Leith  street,  Edinburgh,  he  made  known  to  his  best 
customer,  the  Earl  of  Dalhousie,  his  desire  to  live  the 
remainder  of  his  days  in  retirement. 

"  Well,  Anthony,"  said  his  lordship,  "  since  you  de- 
cline to  make  any  more  guns  for  us  the  next  best  thing 
you  can  do  is  to  give  us  the  benefit  of  your  company. 
And  in  order  to  secure  that  I  will  deed  over  to  your 
use  forever  land  enough  whereon  to  build  your  dwell- 
ing and  appurtenances.  Come  out  to  Cockpen  and  see 
for  yersel'."  It  is  needless  to  say  this  offer  was  grate- 
fully accepted,  and  on  the  banks  of  a  little  stream  in 
the  valley  which  runs  between  the  village  of  Bonny- 
rigg  and  the  parish  kirk  o'  Cockpen  may  be  seen  the 
comfortable  villa  of  Pistol  Hall,  Anthony  Wilkin- 
son, Esq.,  of  that  ilk.  He  had  been  a  widower  for 
many  years,  with  two  children,  Cecilia  and  James.  Mr. 
Anderson  had  learned  his  trade  and  worked  at  the 
old  shop  in  Leith  street  until  he  became  too  good 
a  workman  to  remain  outside  of  London.  Thither  he 
started  with  all  he  possessed  but  his  heart,  which  he 
was  induced  to  leave  in  the  good  keeping  of  Cecilia. 
While  working  journey  work  in  London  he  acquired 
an  enviable  reputation  as  an  expert  in  fowling  pieces, 
two  of  which  he  made  for  the  celebrated  Joe  Manton 
to  execute  an  order  from  the  Persian  ambassador.  The 


OF   DAVID   JOHNSTON.  125 

finish  of  those  guns  was  said  to  be  inimitable,  and  now 
he  musters  his  forces  and  takes  a  shop  in  Cockspur 
street,  Charing  Cross,  and  as  quick  as  a  Leith  smack 
can  carry  him  to  the  object  of  his  affections,  blindly  to 
snatch  her  from  a  happy  home,  to  be  shortly  buried  (say 
two  years)  in  an  obscure  garret  in  the  purlieus  of  West- 
minster, for  in  such  a  place  I  found  them.  James 
thought  that  to  sell  a  gun  was  easier  than  to  make  one, 
that  the  counter  was  more  in  unison  with  his  future 
aspirations  than  the  work-bench.  Insensible  to  the 
responsibilities  involved  in  a  heavy  rent  and  expensive 
fittings  necessary  in  so  prominent  a  thoroughfare,  the 
leap  was  taken,  and  it  took  but  a  short  time  to  make 
manifest  the  blunder;  but  it  required  two  long,  anxious 
years  to  get  clear  of  it,  and  when  he  did  he  not  only 
found  himself  penniless  but  saddled  with  debts  he 
could  not  pay.  My  acquaintance  with  James  Ander- 
son was  slight,  and  I  had  heard  of  his  eccentricities,  and 
to  approach  a  philosopher  in  adversity  is  like  venturing 
a  word  with  Diogenes  in  his  tub,  but  I  took  courage, 
and  with  the  aid  of  an  old-fashioned  knocker  (my  own 
knuckles)  found  access  to  an  apartment  which,  if  carpet- 
less,  was  clean,  and  if  innocent  of  ornament  had  the  ad- 
vantage of  elevation.  I  expected  to  find  a  pair  of  woe- 
begones  brooding  over  their  losses,  instead  of  which 
they  received  me  cheerfully.  Cecy  \vi'  her  needle  and 
her  shears  was  makin'  the  auld  clais  look  amaist  as  weel 
as  new,  and  James  was  employed  painting  in  oil  a 
bunch  of  grapes,  for  profit  or  for  pleasure  I  did  not 
dare  to  ask,  but  I  am  inclined  to  think  from  subsequent 
droppings,  for  they  were  both  not  only  proud  but  taci- 
turn, that  James  had  taken  to  the  easel  for  a  crust. 


126  AUTOBIOGKAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

His  theory  of  the  gun  business  in  London  was  that  there 
were  but  two  firms  in  the  metropolis  who  knew  how  to 
make  a  gun.  His  recent  attempt  to  create  a  third 
made  enemies  of  the  two,  and  to  work  for  botches,  with 
which  London  abounds,  was  out  of  the  question. 

I  invited  them  to  return  the  visit.  Cecilia  came, 
James  never,  and  the  chain  of  circumstances  which 
brought  Cecy  under  my  roof  are,  I  think,  well  worth 
recording,  as  showing  the  idiosyncrasies  of  that  singular 
couple.  An  Edinburgh  lady,  living  in  one  of  the  fash- 
ionable squares  at  the  west  end,  who  was  well  ac- 
quainted with  Mrs.  Anderson,  and,  indeed,  with  all  the 
Wilkinson  family,  after  considerable  trouble  in  finding 
their  abode,  much  to  the  annoyance  of  James,  called. 
She  had  a  proposition  to  make  which  she  hoped  would 
be  taken  in  the  spirit  in  which  it  was  meant.  "  I  am," 
she  said,  "  desirous  of  leaving  town  for  six  weeks,  and  I 
have  thought  that  you,  being  out  of  business,  might, 
during  my  stay  at  Herne  Bay,  take  up  your  residence 
at  my  house,  and  thereby  confer  a  favor  on  me.  Your 
hands  you  need  not  soil,  as  I  leave  three  servants  to  do 
the  work  of  the  house,  who  shall  be  instructed  to  defer 
to  Mrs.  Anderson  as  to  myself."  Alas!  how  apt  we 
are  to  fall  into  mischief  in  the  exercise  of  the  best 
attributes  of  our  nature !  The  intention  in  this  case  to 
a  third  party  was  clearly  benevolent.  The  result  is  the 
separation  of  two  loving  hearts,  never  again  in  this 
world  to  meet.  In  her  true  womanly  heart  Cecilia 
thanked  her  old  friend  for  her  kind  consideration,  and 
would  be  on  hand  to  see  her  off  on  the  morrow,  and 
turning  to  James,  who  was  busy  attending  to  his  pets, 
consisting  of  a  cage  of  educated  white  mice,  listening 


OF   DAVID   JOHNSTON.  127 

to  the  ladies'  conversation  as  if  he  heard  it  not,  she 
said  :  "  Jamie,  you'll  go  with  me,  won't  you  ?  "  The  lady 
departed,  and  on  the  question  being  repeated  he  sul- 
lenly answered  :  "As  you  make  your  bed  so  must  you 
lie,"  and  these  were  the  last  words  she  ever  heard  him 
utter.  During  the  six  weeks'  painful  suspense  he  never 
made  his  appearance,  neither  did  he  answer  her  letters', 
and  when  the  lady  returned,  finding  everything  satis- 
factory at  home,  and  lamenting  the  misery  of  which  she 
was  the  unwitting  cause,  she  offered  Mrs.  Anderson  an 
asylum  for  life.  Her  painful  position  was  made  known 
to  me  during  the  last  month  of  my  dying  wife,  who 
expressed  a  wish  that  our  child,  then  two  years  old, 
should  be  cared  for  by  Mrs.  Anderson,  with  whom  the 
dear  soul  sympathized.  At  Sophie's  death  she  became 
the  ruling  genius  of  my  desolate  home,  and  for  sixteen 
months  I  was  beholden  to  her  for  kindly  care  and  com- 
panionship^;  nor  was  the  cold  philosopher  forgotten. 
During  the  whole  of  that  period  she  diligently  kept 
track  of  his  whereabouts,  and  helped  him  stealthily,  by 
paying  his  rent  and  other  means.  Her  father,  partially 
acquainted  with  matters  in  London,  sent  her  remit- 
tances, which  were  always  in  some  way  shared  by  her 
unseen  husband. 

To  relieve  my  mind  I  resolved  to  visit  my  brother, 
who,  tired  of  idleness,  had  petitioned  the  Board  of  Ord- 
nance for  employment.  His  real  friend,  the  Iron 
Duke,  being  still  the  master-general  thereof,  he  had  no 
difficulty  in  obtaining  it,  and  was  detailed  as  master 
gunner  to  take  charge  of  that  formidable  stronghold, 
Yarmouth  Castle,  on  the  west  coast  of  the  Isle  of  Wight, 
one  of  Joseph  Hume's  statistical  harp-strings,  which  to 


128  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

the  member  for  Montrose  was  such  delectable  pleas- 
ure annually  to  play  upon  that  it  was  dished  up  as 
a  sweet  morsel  to  a  fault-finding  public.  Mr.  Hume's 
description  of  this  place  is  so  graphic  and  so  oft  re- 
peated that  it  is  only  necessary  to  consult  any  one 
of  his  speeches  during  "a.  period  of  twenty  years  to 
supersede  the  greater  expense  of  ocular  demonstra- 
tion. There  lay  the  dismounted  guns,  two  in  number. 
There  stood  the  gunner,  six  feet  one  in  his  stockings, 
and  his  man  Friday,  and,  on  a  rising  ground  behind 
what  had  been  the  moat,  the  most  comfortable  quarter 
of  the  garrison.  Two  in  number,  all  told,  invitingly 
stood,  none  the  less  inviting  by  fumes  emanating  from 
the  spitted  hinder  part  of  a  south-downer  playing 
among  the  salivary  glands  of  one  whose  appetite  has 
been  whetted  by  the  sea  breeze  up  to  an  activity  which 
threatened  destruction  to  a  less  savory  dish  than  that 
which  was  now  in  preparation  for  us.  Their  hospitality 
to  me  had  undergone  a  marvelous  change  for  the  better. 
The  sailor  boy  who  in  Well  Close  Square  was  hurried 
off  to  lie  among  ropes  in  the  forecastle  of  ihe  Trusty, 
was  now  assigned  the  king  bed  in  the  mansion ;  but 
everything  good  in  the  house  failed  to  be  good  enough 
to  induce  me  to  prolong  my  stay,  which  was  length 
ened  several  days  beyond  my  original  intention.  The 
family  consisted  of  my  brother,  his  wife,  and  Mary, 
an  adopted  child,  the  daughter  of  an  old  comrade  who 
was  slain  in  battle  in  the  island  of  Ceylon.  This  man 
on  the  eve  of  the  fight  had  a  presentiment  of  his  fall, 
and  prevailed  on  Alexander  in  that  event  to  adopt  his 
only  child  Mary,  a  promise  religiously  carried  out, 
even  to  the  grave,  and  a  finer  specimen  of  true  grati- 


OF   DAYID    JOHNSTON.  129 

tude  than  that  which  was  found  in  the  life  of  Mary 
would  be  difficult  to  find.  She  had  had  several  offers 
of  marriage,  but  never  could  make  her  mind  up  to  quit 
the  family  circle  of  her  benefactor.  The  world  is  not 
all  so  ungrateful  as  some  would  have  us  believe,  and 
now,  as  home  again  I  turn  my  steps,  my  wounds  are 
felt  to  open  up  afresh,  but  just  in  proportion  to  the 
coldness  of  my  own  hearth  did  I  find  the  popular  sen- 
timent inflamed.  In  fact,  old  Camberwell  not  only  ap- 
peared to  be  but  was  aroused  to  fever  heat.  The 
hackneyed  simile  of  the  toad  under  the  harrow,  rough 
as  it  is,  falls  short  of  the  condition  into  which  the 
officers  of  the  parish  had  recklessly  plunged  themselves. 
Derogatory  sentences  were  posted  on  the  walls  and 
thrown  broad-cast  over  the  three  divisions  of  the  parish, 
such  as,  "  Down  with  pretended  reformers,"  "  Away 
with  Scottish  economists,"  "  Let  the  election  of  Easter 
be  revised,"  and  many  other  disparaging  remarks,  all  of 
which  were  so  richly  perfumed  with  the  roses  of  the  hills 
that  the  olfactory  nerves  of  the  solid  rate-payer  could 
not  fail  to  detect  the  quarter  from  which  they  emanated. 
The  prime  mover  of  these  distasteful  radical  measures 
complained  of  was  Mr.  Daniel  Triquet,  overseer  for 
Camberwell  proper.  This  gentleman  was  a  clerk  in  the 
will  office  of  the  Bank  of  England,  aided  by  David 
Johnston,  the  baker  in  Peckham,  and  Joseph  Haines, 
Esq.,  Dulwich.  For  the  first  time  in  many  years  the 
representatives  of  the  respective  districts  of  Camber- 
well  were  perfectly  unanimous  in  desiring  to  undertake 
a  long-needed  reform  in  the  parochial  rent-roll,  whereon 
should  be  based  an  assessment  for  all  the  wants  of  the 
parish  in  an  equable  ratio. 
9 


130  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES. 

To  reach  the  intrinsic  value  of  property  which  is  in 
the  market,  continually  improving,  is  easily  attained, 
but  to  get  at  the  true  value  of  that  which  is  never 
known  to  change  hands,  and  which  had  been  assessed 
at  a  remote  period,  when  money  was  more  valuable,  we 
found  to  be  attended  with  difficulty,  requiring  the 
whole  of  our  second  year  in  office  to  accomplish,  and 
after  a  residence  of  many  years  in  this  delightful  com- 
munity it  is  gratifying  to  reflect  that  I  failed  to  meet  a 
parishioner  who  was  prepared  to  assert  that  the  battle 
was  fought  in  vain.  A  few  words  in  the  next  chapter 
on  this  topic  appears  necessary  to  enable  the  reader  to 
comprehend  the  nature  of  this  controversy. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 


"  That  thin  partitions  do  divide 
The  bounds  where  good  and  ill  reside; 
That  naught  is  perfect  here  below, 
But  bliss  still  bordering  upon  woe." 

THE  parish  of  St.  Giles,  Camberwell,  in  the  metro- 
politan borough  of  Lambeth  (which  borough 
returns  two  members  to  parliament),  is  situated  in  the 
county  of  Surrey,  and  is  one  of  the  richest  suburbs  of 
London.  The  parish  contained  in  1832  a  population  of 
about  50,000,  which  was  healthily  increasing.  The  parish 
is  divided  into  three  parts,  viz.,  Camberwell  proper,  the 
liberty  of  Peckham  and  the  hamlet  of  Dulwich.  In 
the  last-named  village  is  the  famous  college  of  Allyn 
the  play-actor,  who  built  and  endowed  it  for  the  sup- 
port and  education  of  decayed  persons  of  his  name. 
In  this  college  is  the  Bodleian  gallery,  in  which  there 
are  some  splendid  paintings  of  the  old  masters.  In 
Peckham  stands  Marlborough  House,  the  ancient  seat 
of  the  hero  of  Blenheim,  with  all  his  deeds  emblazoned 
on  the  walls,  in  good  preservation.  The  residence  of 
Nell  Gwynn,  of  Charles  II  notoriety,  was  made  to  give 
way  for  the  Surrey  canal.  Of  the  beauty  of  the  to- 
pography of  Camberwell  it  would  be  difficult  to  say 
too  much  in  its  praise.  It  is  said  "  Sweet  Auburn  "  was 

131 


132  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

written  in  Goldsmith  House,  Peckham.  Be  that  as  it 
may,  I  know  there  is  a  pane  of  glass  in  one  of  the 
windows  of  that  house  with  his  name,  said  to  have  been 
written  by  himself.  The  topography  of  the  parish  is 
delightfully  undulating,  and  rich  in  foliage.  The  hills, 
known  by  the  names  of  Grove,  Champion,  Dulwich, 
Norwood,  Forest,  and  Sydenham,  abound  in  splendid 
scenery.  Several  views  from  these  eminences  are  ob- 
tained of  the  metropolis.  The  valley  of  the  Thames, 
the  wealds  of  Kent  and  the  immediate  surroundings  are 
well  worthy  of  a  visit.  But  in  speaking  of  my  cozy, 
happy  home  I  must  not  forget  the  passing  events  of 
the  then  extraordinary  period.  The  political  arena  of 
1829  assumed  a  state  of  fermentation  which  drifted 
rapidly  into  an  agitation  which  in  some  instances 
threatened  damage  to  the  peace  of  the  community. 
The  iron  horse  had  made  his  bow,  making  manifest  at 
once  his  power  to  bless  and  to  destroy.  At  the  great 
and  world-wide  important  event  of  opening  the  railway 
between  Manchester  and  Liverpool,  the  nation  was 
shocked  and  dreadfully  saddened  by  the  destruction  of 
one  of  our  greatest  and  most  consistent  reformers  of 
the  period.  Mr.  Huskisson,  who,  with  the  Duke  of 
Wellington,  was  deputed  to  represent  the  government 
at  the  opening,  was  killed  on  the  track  by  an  engine 
near  Liverpool.  He  was  president  of  the  board  of 
trade  at  the  time  and  a  great  advocate  of  free  trade, 
and  was  mainly  instrumental  in  lowering  the  duties  on 
the  silken  fabrics  of  France  so  as  to  bring  them  within 
the  reach  of  the  common  people  of  England,  to  the 
annoyance  of  the  Spitalfield  silk  weavers  who  carried 
their  petition  in  procession  to  the  House  of  Commons 


OF    DAVID    JOHNSTON.  133 

against  his  innovating  measures.  Their  mistaken 
notions  were  unmoved  by  his  eloquence,  but  their  sub- 
sequent experience  proved  the  soundness  of  his  prin- 
ciples when  their  periodical  poverty  had  given  place  to 
an  increased  activity  to  their  shuttles.  The  reforming 
spirit  was  more  susceptible  of  feeling  at  this  time 
than  to  action,  each  heading  looming  up  and  claim- 
ing priority  of  the  popular  process  which  the  acute 
angles  of  all  measures  are  destined  to  undergo  prior  to 
becoming  law.  Reform  in  parliament  became  the 
leading  topic  of  the  day.  Men  were  now  inspired  by 
reasonable  expectations  of  a  speedy  accomplishment  of 
that  for  which  they  had  struggled  for  a  period  of 
twenty-eight  years,  and  for  which  they  had  figured  at  an 
early  day  in  the  most  contemptible  minorities.  We 
had  now  in  1830  at  the  nominal  head  of  affairs  a  re- 
forming king  (William  the  Fourth,  the  popular  sailor 
king),  under  whose  auspices  there  were  those  in  high 
places  who  in  the  spirit  of  their  dreams  began  to  feel  a 
change.  Many  who,  under  George,  were  stanch  advo- 
cates for  leaving  all  things  just  as  they  were,  began 
under  William  to  relax. 

Others,  again,  assumed  the  position  of  leaders  in  a 
cause  against  which  they  had  fought  for  years.  In 
1830  and  1831  the  spirit  of  the  people  rose  to  a  danger- 
ous pitch.  In  all  the  large  towns  immense  assemblages 
of  the  middle  and  working  classes  convened,  carrying 
flags  bearing  inscriptions,  some  of  which  were  couched 
in  terms  more  in  the  attitude  of  threats  than  that  of 
petitions.  Every  city,  town  and  hamlet  had  its  reform 
society,  from  whom  emanated  spirited  petitions,  not 
always  guarded  in  phraseology.  Under  the  pressure  from 


134  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL    REMINISCENCES 

without  a  bill,  under  the  auspices  of  that  grand  old 
political  reformer,  Lord  John  Russell,  was  intro- 
duced into  the  commons.  After  every  schedule  of  the 
bill  had  been  severely  scrutinized,  both  in  and  out  of 
parliament,  it  was  accepted  by  the  people,  and  the  bill, 
the  whole  bill,  and  nothing  but  the  bill,  became  the 
national  demand  from  Land's  End  to  John  o'  Groat's. 
But  the  king,  intimidated  at  the  aspect  of  affairs,  made 
efforts  to  retract,  dismissed  his  reforming  minister, 
tried  to  form  a  cabinet  of  the  leaders  of  the  opposi- 
tion, which  proved  impracticable,  and  thereby  made 
shipwreck  of  his  golden  popularity.  So  much  so  that  on 
his  way  to  and  from  his  palace  at  Windsor  he  found 
himself  under  the  necessity  of  taking  a  by-road  to  escape 
the  filthy  missiles  being  thrown  at  his  carriage,  showing 
the  instability  of  the  popular  applause.  1830  was 
an  eventful  year.  George  IV  departed  this  life  after  ten 
years  of  misrule.  It  gave  a  throne  to  Louis  Phillippe, 
obscurity  to  Charles  X,  and  an  addition  to  our  little 
family  at  Peckham.  In  the  revolution  effecting  the 
changes  in  France  the  whole  world  was  dazzled  at  the 
noble  defense  of  order  made  by  La  Fayette  against  a 
host  of  fire-brands.  I  was  so  taken  with  the  bravery 
of  that  hero  that  I  was  desirous  of  naming  our  infant 
son  after  him,  but  on  our  way  to  Camberwell  church  to 
get  a  name,  my  wife,  being  a  true  English  woman, 
scouted  the  idea  of  naming  a  child  of  ours  after  a 
Frenchman.  I  felt  cheap  and  vanquished,  and  gave  the 
choice  up  to  her,  and  I  am  sure  she  found  a  much  less 
worthy  name  in  my  own  than  in  that  of  the  hero  of  my 
choice,  but  I  had  disfranchised  myself  in  the  premises 
and  yielded  to  the  inevitable.  At  this  particular  junct- 


OF    DAVID   JOHXSTON.  135 

ure  all  Europe  seemed  convulsed.  Thrones  toppled, 
dynasties  arose  and  reigning  families  were  ruthlessly 
shelved.  Even  these  little  republics,  called  parishes  in 
England,  where  self-government  really  exists,  were  not 
exempt  from  the  prevailing  turmoil,  and  our  quiet  rural 
parish  of  Camberwell  had  to  come  in  for  its  share. 
The  clerical  or  bookkeeping  part  of  the  parish  was 
nominally  transacted  by  Mr.  Gilbert,  a  prominent  lawyer 
in  the  city,  whose  income  enabled  him  to  keep  up  a  high- 
toned  establishment  in  Camberwell.  For  his  services 
as  vestry-clerk  he  received  four  hundred  pounds  per 
annum,  while  Mr.  Pool,  the  assistant  vestry-clerk,  on 
whose  shoulders  fell  the  real  burden  of  the  work,  en- 
joyed a  salary  of  seventy  pounds  a  year  whereon  to 
support  himself,  wife  and  seven  children.  The  child- 
less Gilbert,  moving  in  the  highest  circles  of  society,  be- 
ginning to  think  that  an  additional  two  hundred  to  his 
four  hundred  would  be  acceptable,  mooted  the  idea  to 
his  bosom  friend,  the  vicar,  and  leading  men  of  the  in- 
fluential class  of  parishioners  in  which  he  moved.  The 
hill-tops  teemed  with  the  desire,  but  how  shall  we  be 
able  to  counteract  that  abominable  spirit  of  reform 
which  seems  to  transform  our  trading  and  working  classes 
from  willing  coadjutors  to  vile  obstructionists?  The 
vote  in  our  favor  can  only  be  obtained  by  early  attend- 
ance and  filling  the  hall  with  our  friends.  But  the 
move  was  anticipated  by  the  despised  reformers,  and 
the  audience  proved  too  much  imbued  with  the  spirit 
of  reform  for  their  scheme.  Under  the  auspices  of 
John  George  Storey,  vicar,  the  churchwardens  and 
overseers  of  the  poor  of  St.  Giles,  Camberwell,  the 
meeting  was  convened.  I  was  induced  by  neighbors 


136  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL    REMINISCENCES 

to  attend  that  meeting,  at  which  John  George  Storey 
took  the  chair.  The  object  of  the  special  meeting 
was  somewhat  hastily  explained,  and  a  motion  to 
augment  the  salary  of  the  vestry  clerk  two  hundred 
pounds  per  annum  was  as  hastily  moved  and  seconded. 
Looking  around  in  vain  to  those  who  had  urged  me  to 
accompany  them  in  the  spirit  of  opposition  to  the 
measure,  and  somewhat  nettled  at  the  supine  appearance 
of  my  neighbors,  at  the  moment  the  vicar  was  about  to 
submit  the  motion  to  the  vote  I  made  myself  heard 
in  the  crowded  hall,  apologizing  for  so  young  a  parish- 
ioner trespassing  upon  the  notice  of  so  great  an  assem- 
bly. I  said  that  if  my  opinion  of  the  sum  of  four 
hundred  pounds  a  year  was  too  inflated  I  had  to 
attribute  it  to  the  fact  of  being  a  native  of  a  part  of 
the  world  where  money  is  rendered  valuable  by  its 
scarcity.  "  I  therefore  move  as  an  amendment  that  Mr. 
Gilbert  receive  a  vote  of  thanks  for  the  able  manner 
in  which  he  has  served  the  parish  in  the  capacity  of 
vestry  clerk,  and  that  he  be  invited  to  retain  that 
position  at  his  present  salary  of  four  hundred  pounds 
per  annum."  This  amendment  was  seconded  by  a  sten- 
torian voice  at  the  opposite  side  of  the  hall,  who, 
seeing  the  unwillingness  on  the  part  of  the  vicar  to  put 
the  amendment,  and  at  the  time  urging  me  to  with- 
draw it,  elbowed  his  way  through  the  crowded  audi- 
ence, introduced  himself  as  Mr.  Brett,  whom  I  after- 
ward found  to  be  an  eminent  attorney  of  the  old  Kent 
Road,  saying,"  I  seconded  your  amendment,  and  I  fear 
you  are  about  to  lose  it.  According  to  appearances  we 
shall  be  able  to  carry  the  vote.  All  now  depends 
on  your  pressing  it  to  an  issue."  Being  entirely  igno- 


OF   DAVID    JOHNSTON.  137 

rant  of  parliamentary  rules  I  took  courage  from  his 
support,  and  to  the  chagrin  of  the  chair  pressed  the 
amendment,  which  was  carried  by  a  very  large  major- 
ity. The  effect  of  this  vote  throughout  the  parish  was 
unprecedented,  and  infuriated  for  a  time  the  proud 
priest  and  his  party.  The  cool,  temperate  daring  of  a 
class  they  were  wont  to  despise  challenged  their 
respect  and  paved  the  way  to  a  wonderful  change  in 
parochial  management.  On  the  following  Easter  Tues- 
day, the  day  on  which  all  the  parish  officers  are  elected 
for  the  year  ensuing,  in  due  order  of  business  the  elec- 
tion of  overseer  of  the  poor  for  the  Liberty  of  Peckham 
came  before  the  vestry,  and  Mr.  Brett  arose  and  said 
"  that  inasmuch  as  the  parish  of  Camberwell  stands 
indebted  to  a  comparative  stranger  in  that  part  of  the 
parish  for  the  judicious  part  he  took  in  a  recent  con- 
troversy, I  therefore  move  that  David  Johnston  be 
overseer  of  the  poor  of  St.  Giles,  Camberwell,  during 
the  ensuing  year,  ending  in  Easter,  1831,"  which,  to 
the  astonishment  of  all  present,  was  seconded  by  Mr. 
Gilbert  and  unanimously  carried.  Thus  was  I  honored 
by  my  fellow-parishioners  in  the  receipt  of  the  highest 
gift  within  the  compass  of  their  power,  and  all  from  a 
mere  accident,  not  from  any  credit  of  my  own.  Oh, 
for  the  buoyant  happiness  of  those  too  few  days  !  To 
be  lifted  from  a  miserable  life  of  servile  drudgery  into 
a  snug,  sweet  home  at  the  age  of  twenty-six  years, 
in  robust  health ;  to  be  in  communion  with  the 
woman  you  dearly  love,  and  with  whom  you  have  been 
acquainted  for  eight  years ;  to  be  blessed  with  a  prom- 
ising son ;  to  have  your  credit  well  established  ;  to 
possess  the  confidence  of  your  fellow-creatures,  and  all 


138  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES. 

5'our  prospects  brightening,  must  be  felt  to  be  appre- 
ciated. But  such  felicity  seldom  falls  to  the  lot  of 
man.  Indeed,  I  have  been  led  to  look  upon  happy 
coincidences  as  the  harbinger  of  evil,  an  idea  which 
might  have  found  its  origin  in  the  dreadful  ordeal 
which  I  was  destined  to  undergo  so  close  upon  the 
heels  of  the  attainment  of  all  that  I  could  wish.  My 
wife's  confinement  had  not  been  attended  by  any- 
thing like  severity;  still,  her  continued  weakness  gave 
rise  to  uneasiness,  and  shortly  to  alarm.  At  the  close 
of  the  nurse's  term  Sophia's  mother  became  her  constant 
attendant,  and  under  the  auspices  of  the  physician,  Dr. 
Bissett,  and  her  own  loving  heart,  soothed  the  pillow  of 
the  darling  patient  until  her  last  breath,  which  fatal 
event  transpired  on  the  seventeenth  day  of  September, 
1832.  The  grave  in  which  her  remains  are  deposited 
is  in  old  Camberwell  churchyard,  pointed  out  by  a 
headstone  on  which  is  inscribed  the  following  lan- 
guage, quoted  from  Sterne,  and  garbled  to  suit  the  sex : 

She  was — words  are  wanting  to  say  what ! 
Think  what  a  wife,  mother,  friend,  shou'd  be, 
And  she  was  that  ! 


CHAPTER  XX. 

A   TRIP   TO   THE   GREEN   ISLE. 

IN  the  summer  of  this  year  my  wife's  maternal  uncle, 
Richard  Clements,  overjoyed  at  the  recovery,  by  a 
simple  process,  of  his  hearing,  proposed  that  he  and  I 
should  take  a  trip  to  Ireland.  No  sooner  mooted  than 
might  have  been  found  Uncle  Clements  and  I  in  the 
yard  of  the  Swan-With-Two-Necks  inn,  Lad  lane,  Lon- 
don, surmounting  the  Tally  Ho,  the  four-in-hand  coach 
for  Holyhead,  the  grandest  of  all  modes  of  transit. 
Over  the  finest  roads  and  through  the  richest  scenery 
in  the  world  we  reach  the  Black  Bull  Bull-ring,  Bir- 
mingham, to  experience  the  old-fashioned  landlord's 
trick  of  delaying  the  meal  until  the  coach  is  just  ready 
to  start,  leaving  the  hungry  traveler  no  time  to  do 
justice  to  his  viands.  In  taking  a  passing  peep  at 
Peeping  Tom,  on  our  way  through  the  fine  old  town  of 
Coventry,  we  soon  arrive  at  the  ancient  city  of  Shrews- 
bury, made  famous  by  the  questionable  veracity  of 
Falstaff.  Through  the  neat  little  town  of  Oswestry  we 
began  to  realize  that  masterpiece  of  civil  engineering 
of  Mr.  Telfer;  his  road  from  this  point  to  Bangor, 
through  the  romantic  scenery  of  North  Wales ;  his 
bridge  across  the  Menai  straits,  and  his  road  through 
Anglesea  to  Holyhead,  being  a  work  at  once  of  beauty 
and  utility  combined.  Crossing  the  channel  we  experi- 
enced rough  weather,  and  entering  the  then  unfinished 

139 


140  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL    REMINISCENCES 

harbor  of  Kingston,  and  finding  that,  in  consequence 
of  a  promised  grand  regatta  on  the  morrow,  the  hotels 
were  all  occupied,  we  sheltered  (not  slept)  in  sorry  ac- 
commodation. On  our  way  thither  we  were  fortunate 
enough  to  have  a  taste  of  genuine  Hibernianism  worthy 
of  remark.  My  uncle  objecting  to  pay  what  he  deemed 
an  overcharge  for  carrying  our  portmanteaus,  the  quick 
reply  was,"  Shure,  haven't  I  been  waiting  for  yez  for  the 
last  two  hours  in  this  cowld  night?"  Figure  to  your- 
self a  hackman  charging  his  fare  in  proportion  to  the 
time  his  vehicle  has  been  idle  on  the  stand.  It  was  a 
kind  o'f  eating-house  wherein  we  had  to  sojourn  for 
the  night,  and  having  resolved  to  witness  the  regatta 
we  ordered  breakfast,  whereupon  the  landlord,  with  a 
soiled  cloth  over  his  left  arm,  answered  the  knock  on 
the  table. 

"  What  d'ye  plaze  to  want,  gintlemen,  for  break- 
fast?" 

"What  have  you  for  the  morning  meal?" 
He  then  glibly  dealt  out  a  long  list  of  good  things, 
the  burden  being  chickens  and  ham,  which  he  repeated 
and  transformed  several  times  in  the  course  of  his 
verbal  bill  of  fare.  We  then  ordered  chickens  and  ham, 
with  tea,  for  which,  with  all  the  patience  that  keen  appe- 
tites could  muster,  for  three-quarters  of  an  hour  we 
waited  in  vain.  A  boy  who  was  left  in  charge  coolly 
informed  us  that  his  master  had  gone  to  his  stall  at  the 
harbor  and  taken  the  chickens  and  ham  with  him. 
"  Ah,"  said  my  pawky  uncle,  "  this  comes  from  too 
prompt  payment.  Had  we  held  on  to  the  price  of  his 
beds  for  awhile  our  fast  might  have  been  broken  in 
comparative  comfort."  The  weather  for  an  hour  was 


OF   DAVID    JOHNSTON.  141 

bright  and  clear,  long  enough  to  feast  our  vision  on 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  sights  I  ever  beheld.  The 
Bay  of  Dublin  at  all  times  is  one  of  nature's  beauty 
spots,  but  on  this  occasion  the  scene  was  made  enchant- 
ing by  the  numberless  yachts  of  the  three  united  king- 
doms floating  on  its  tranquil  bosom,  all  busy  in 
preparation  for  the  trial  of  speed  on  which  they  were 
about  to  start.  A  gentle  breeze  from  the  north  rippled 
the  surface  of  the  bay,  bringing  with  it  the  harbinger 
of  disappointment.  A  small  but  growing  cloud  kissed 
the  summit  of  the  hill  of  Howth,  giving  to  the  weather- 
wise  unheeded  warning  of  a  soaking  day.  Nor  was 
suspense  of  long  duration.  With  the  changing  speed 
of  a  kaleidoscope  the  brilliant  morning  was  embraced 
in  gloom.  The  glorious  bay,  with  its  busy  burden,  was 
no  longer  to  be  seen,  neither  could  the  outline  of  the 
distant  hill  be  drawn,  and  then  the  rain — I  have  heard 
of  it  raining  in  Glasgow,  and  tasted  of  rain  in  the 
Devil's  Wash-Basin,  a  local  title  given  to  the  city  of 
Manchester,  and  both  cities  are  proverbial  for  the  extent 
of  their  rainfall — but  the  fall  of  rain  that  day  in  Kings- 
ton would  be  hard  to  surpass.  The  fine  morning  had 
emptied  Dublin  of  its  heterogeneous  masses,  who 
poured  into  the  site  of  the  new  harbor  at  Kingston 
by  the  thousand,  and  a  crowd  more  mixed  never  char- 
acterized the  annual  Derby  day  at  Epsom.  One 
peculiarity  I  noticed  which  goes  to  distinguish  the 
western  gathering  from  that  of  the  east,  namely,  the 
use  of  the  umbrella.  In  England  the  umbrella  is  sup- 
posed to  be  the  property  of  the  individual.  In  Ireland 
it  is  public  property.  Hoisting  one  of  those  useful 
commodities  has  the  effect  of  attracting  all  those 


142  AUTOBIOGKAPHICAL    REMINISCENCES 

within  sight  of  the  holder  who  might  be  less  fortunate, 
giving  rise  to  the  most  ludicrous  scenes,  in  one  of 
which  my  jolly  uncle  was  made  to  figure  as  a  center. 
He  had  placed  his  back  against  a  huge  block  of  granite 
to  shelter  him  from  the  pelting  storm,  and  to  increase 
his  protection  inflated  his  new  bit  of  silk  for  the  first 
time,  which  was  no  sooner  done  than  a  round  dozen  of 
all  sorts  of  people  laid  claim  to  share  the  privilege  with 
that  of  the  owner.  At  first  the  kind  old  soul  evinced 
no  dislike  to  this  singular  proceeding,  so  new  to  him. 
A  Dublin  belle  of  apparent  respectability,  elegantly 
attired  in  satin,  but  woefully  drenched  with  the  rain, 
had  placed  her  back  against  his  rotund  person,  afford- 
ing the  old  gentleman  pleasure  in  the  exercise  of  his 
gallantry  in  sheltering  so  fine  a  lady  from  the  merciless 
storm. 

"  But  pleasures  are  like  poppies  spread, 
You  seize  the  flower,  the  bloom  is  shed; 
Or  like  the  snow-flake  on  the  river, 
A  moment  white,  then  gone  forever." 

Less  welcome  were  the  dozen  ragged,  rollicking 
followers  of  the  lady's  example,  who  set  up  a  rude, 
noisy  bantering,  many  of  their  jokes  made  to  appeal 
to  the  risibles  of  the  ungainly  crowd  at  Mr.  Clements' 
expense,  making  his  confined  situation  anything  but 
pleasant.  Retreat  in  the  rear  was  cut  off  by  reason  of 
the  granite ;  the  obstacles  in  front  were  nearly  as  im- 
movable. The  old  gentleman  was  very  sensitive  to 
odor,  and  the  packing  of  so  many  saturated  human 
beings  so  assailed  his  olfactories  that  his  plight  became 
unbearable,  and  with  one  effort  of  his  burly  body  he 
freed  himself  of  his  untoward  incumbrance.  On  our 


OF   DAVID    JOHNSTON.  143 

way  to  the  viandless  eating-house  for  our  satchels  I 
confess  to  the  morbid  satisfaction  of  seeing  our  host  of 
the  empty  platter  perhaps  too  severely  punished  for 
the  trick  he  played  on  us  as  strangers.  He  had  im- 
provised a  square  platform  with  a  pole  at  each  corner. 
At  the  tops  of  each  upright  was  fastened  an  unwashed 
sheet  to  keep  the  sun  from  his  stock  in  trade.  The 
sheet  now,  the  sunshine  having  turned  to  rain,  formed 
a  leaky  reservoir  of  the  superincumbent  downfall,  and 
the  unsold  viands,  even  the  veritable  chickens  and 
ham,  uninvitingly  lay  exposed  to  the  copious  drip- 
pings of  the  extended  sheet  above,  which  from  its  in- 
verted rotundity  threatened  to  burst  every  minute. 
Bidding  adieu  to  the  prolonged  scene  of  discomfort 
we  sought  and  found  its  opposite  (after  a  short  ride  of 
seven  or  eight  miles  over  the  only  railroad  which  Ire- 
land could  at  that  date  boast  of)  in  the  Victoria  Hotel, 
Westland  Row,  Dublin,  the  landlord,  Mr.  Gilbert,  a 
native  of  Droitwich,  £ngland,  who  for  genuine  hospi- 
tality could  not  be  excelled.  In  addition  to  the  home 
comforts  of  his  well-managed  house,  he  put  himself  to 
considerable  expense  and  trouble  on  our  behalf  in  do~ 
ing  the  lions  of  the  city  and  environs, — the  park,  the 
college,  the  custom  house,  the  four  courts,  the  castle^ 
the  pigeon  house,  the  cathedral,  even  through  the 
romantic  glen  called  the  Dargle  (where  Grattan  was  wont 
to  practice  his  parliamentary  speeches),  to  the  falls 
of  Powerscourt,  in  the  Wicklow  mountains,  and  other 
places  of  interest.  Among  other  curiosities  in  Dublin 
I  may  mention  that  of  a  new  way  to  pay  old  debts. 
Mr.  Me —  -  held  a  good  situation  in  London  for  some 
years,  during  which  time  he  and  his  family  resided  near 


144  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL    REMINISCENCES 

to  us  in  Peckham.  We  got  to  be  on  intimate  terms, 
when,  losing  his  berth,  he  retired  to  his  native  Dublin, 
leaving  me  his  note  for  .£30  borrowed  money.  Think- 
ing to  dovetail  a  little  business  with  pleasure,  I  put 

forth  an  effort  to  collect  this  trifle,  as  Mr.  Me was 

pleased  to  call  it.  I  had  no  trouble  in  finding  my 
man:  would  that  I  could  say  so  of  my  claim.  We  were 
introduced  to  good  society,  one  gentleman  a  promi- 
nent lawyer,  his  wife's  brother.  We  were  cordially 
invited  to  spend  a  week  at  his  villa  in  the  beautiful 
village  of  Darndale,  nestling  in  the  lee  of  the  hill  of 
Howth.  A  passing  visit  had  to  suffice,  and  we  were 
for  two  days  handsomely  entertained  in  town,  which 
doubtless  cost  double  the  amount  of  the  debt,  but  the 
de'il  a  word  was  uttered  in  regard  to  the  liquidation  of 
the  debt,  nor  has  a  figure  been  altered  in  my  ledger 
from  that  frothy  period  to  the  present  day.  In  speak- 
ing of  the  characteristics  of  the  people  of  the  sister  isle 
it  would  be  presumptuous  on  my  part  to  venture  an 
opinion  on  a  subject  which  has  baffled  the  skill  of 
matter-of-fact  England  for  seven  hundred  years.  Can 
it  be  that  matter-of-fact  measures  are  unsuited  for  the 
governance  of  a  poetical  people?  A  nation  susceptible 
of  wrath  by  the  color  of  your  handkerchief  is  not  likely 
to  be  satisfied  with  mere  bread  and  butter,  and  a  ser- 
mon preached  in  the  chapel  of  Dublin  Castle,  however 
orthodox  and  sublime,  will  fail  to  compensate  the  mis- 
chief effected  by  the  employment  of  party  colors  in 
Stephens  Green.  But  this  savors  of  the  spirit  of 
opinion,  for  which  I  ask  the  reader's  pardon.  And  now, 
sister  isle,  adieu.  Turn  not  away  from  us.  The  under- 
current of  the  British  heart  flows  toward  you,  albeit 


OF   DAVID   JOHXSTON.  145 

the  surface  may  tend  to  obscure  the  fact.  There  is 
strength  in  unison,  weakness  in  division.  Mills  of  deity 
grind  slowly.  Every  grievance  shall  be  removed. 
Patient  endurance  will  win.  Let  the  Celt  and  the 
Saxon  be  reconciled,  that  they  may  yet  sit  down  in 
harmony  together,  is  the  earnest  wish  of  the  neutral 
subscriber. 
10 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


"Mark  my  fall  and  that  that  ruin'd  me." 

Shakespeare. 

IT  seems  that  the  most  difficult  lesson  for  a  prosper- 
ous man  to  learn  is  to  know  when  to  eschew  specu- 
lation; to  be  content  pursuing  the  even  tenor  of 
well  doing  and  ever  able  to  fortify  the  ear  against  siren 
assaults  which  savor  of  ambition,  how  difficult  the  task ! 
The  ease  which  attended  the  raising  of  the  necessary 
funds  to  make  me  a  freeholder  of  Surrey,  which  ("  up 
higher  yet,  my  bannet ! ")  entitled  me  to  a  vote  for  the 
county  and  to  mingle  with  the  lords  of  the  soil  at 
Croyden  on  election  day,  doubtless  led  to  a  species  of 
inflated  pleasures,  but  at  the  same  time  proved  the 
opening  wedge  to  a  train  of  action  which  involved 
me  in  the  short  space  of  a  few  years  in  utter  ruin,  and 
led  to  the  dreadful  ordeal  of  emigration  with  a  family  of 
nine  souls,  at  the  age  of  forty-five  years,  to  a  distant  land. 
My  purchase  was  part  of  the  estate  of  Esquire  Batten, 
of  Yeovil,  Somerset,  banker,  who  for  some  years,  on 
his  annual  visit  to  London  to  collect  his  rents,  enjoyed 
some  comfort  in  my  cozy  little  parlor,  and  never  failed 
to  advise  me  to  purchase  the  property,  consisting  of 
my  own  premises,  extending  a  long  way  back,  a  grocer's 
shop  next  door,  and  eight  small  cottages  behind  in  an 
alley.  He  remarked  on  one  occasion  that  he  was  "get- 
ting too  far  advanced  in  life  for  this  periodical  journey, 

146 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES.  147 

and  I  have  experienced  nothing  but  confusion  in  trust- 
ing to  agents  for  the  collection  of  rents,  and  therefore 
I  have  come  to  the  determination  of  bringing  the 
whole  of  my  London  property  to  the  hammer.  It 
will  be  to  your  advantage  to  take  the  property  for 
£1,200,  and  I  shall  make  the  payments  easy."  I  thanked 
him  for  his  proposition,  but  doubted  my  capacity  to 
furnish  the  means,  and  before  he  received  a  penny  of 
the  purchase  money  the  title  deeds  of  the  freehold  were 
placed  in  my  hands,  thus  entitling  me  to  a  vote  for  the 
borough  of  Lambeth.  Such  a  business  transaction  I 
never  heard  of  before  nor  since,  and  I  have  been  led  to 
believe,  from  the  indifferent  manner  in  which  he  received 
the  first  installment  of  .£400,  that  he  was  careless  as  to 
whether  I  paid  him  or  not,  and  when  he  received  the 
last  installment  he  said  that  when  Batten's  terrace  was 
sold  to  be  at  the  sale  and  bid  for  the  end  house  next  to 
my  alley  as  a  means  of  securing  the  future  advantage  of 
the  property  I  had  just  bought.  I  subsequently  found 
his  advice  profitable,  but  the  general  sale  being  left  in 
the  hands  of  a  broker  the  purchase-money  had  to  be 
forthcoming — £,joo  within  seven  weeks  of  the  date  of  the 
sale.  Thus  I  was  drawn  into  a  dilemma  which  was  likely 
to  prove  fatal  to  all  my  good  fortune,  and  from  which  I 
could  only  be  extricated  by  paying  the  cash  at  the  given 
time.  I  wrote  to  the  old  gentleman,  saying  that  1  had 
taken  his  advice  in  buying  the  house  in  Batten's  terrace, 
and  should  be  in  Yeovil  on  the  following  week  for  some 
further  advice  in  the  premises.  In  two  days  I  received 
notice  from  an  unknown  hand  that  Mr.  Batten  was  too 
ill  to  see  any  one,  particularly  on  business.  I  then 
wrote  to  Jane  Turpin,  a  daughter  of  my  half-brother, 


148  AUTOBIOGKAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

Alexander,  by  a  former  Avife,  explaining  my  untoward 
position.  She  sent,  to  my  agreeable  astonishment, 
^"400,  which  left  me  an  easy  task  to  make  up  the 
remainder  among  my  friends.  My  mind  considerably 
relieved,  setting  my  house  in  order  for  a  new  presiding 
genius  became  the  order  of  the  day. 

At  this  time  I  am  beholden  to  my  friend  Mr.  Webb, 
of  High  Holborn,  for  an  introduction  to  Miss  Mary 
Ann  Wheeler,  whose  father  was  a  Mr.  Thomas  Wheeler, 
portrait  painter,  of  Regent  street,  St.  James.  I  ad- 
dressed that  gentleman  by  mail,  asking  permission  to 
visit  his  daughter.  His  answer  was  couched  in  cautious 
terms,  requiring  references.  I  sent  him  to  Mr.  Michie, 
whose  testimony  was  deemed  satisfactory,  and  which 
opened  the  doors  to  a  happy  home,  in  which  I  spent 
many  a  delightful  evening  in  conversation  and  music. 
David,  my  first  and  only  son  by  my  former  wife,  was 
now  four  years  old,  and  I  placed  him  under  the  care  of 
relations,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Graham,  of  the  grammar 
school,  Haddington.  His  grandmother,  Mrs.  Jones, 
accompanied  me  to  Scotland  with  him.  While  there 
we  made  a  little  tour  up  the  Firth  to  Stirling  by  the 
first  steamer  that  sailed  in  these  waters;  thence  by 
coach  to  lock  sixteen,  on  the  Forth  and  Clyde  canal ; 
thence  by  canal  to  Glasgow.  Stopping  in  that  great 
mart  a  few  days,  we  sailed  down  the  Clyde  to  Greenock, 
Dunoon  and  Rothesay ;  back  again  to  Glasgow,  and 
thence  by  coach  to  Edinburgh  ;  then  again  to  London 
by  aLeith  smack.  We  found  Mrs.  Anderson  well,  but 
somewhat  dumpy.  Dame  Rumor  had  me  married,  or 
about  to  be,  and  it  was  a  downright  shame  to  keep  it 
from  her. 


OF   DAVID    JOHNSTON".  149 

On  the  4th  day  of  May,  1834,  at  St.  James'  church, 
Piccadilly,  Miss  Mary  Ann  Wheeler  became  Mrs.  David 
Johnston.  Now  I  have  a  volume  to  write  about  that 
lady,  but  am  tongue-tied  on  the  subject,  for  here  she  is 
by  my  side  on  the  Pacific  coast,  in  1883,  mingling  her 
hopes  with  mine  to  have  the  pleasure  of  our  golden 
wedding,  and  she  hates  the  semblance  of  flattery. 
So,  loving  peace,  mum's  the  word.  On  our  wedding- 
day  we,  accompanied  by  a  few  friends,  dined  at  the 
Star  and  Garter,  Richmond  Hill,  one  of  England's 
loveliest  spots,  and  which,  looking  toward  Windsor, 
is  furnished,  at  this  season  for  rich  beauty,  with  one 
of  the  finest  landscapes  in  the  world,  and,  turning 
homeward,  under  our  own  vine  and  fig-tree  in  the 
pleasant  village  of  Peckham  spent  the  honeymoon 
and  fourteen  years  of  our  lives.  It  was  natural  to  sup- 
pose that  Mrs.  Anderson  would  be  incommoded  by  the 
new  arrangement,  but  to  the  inevitable  she  handsomely 
yielded  and  stayed  a  few  days  with  Mrs.  Jones,  who 
also  visited  my  wife  and  became  attached  to  her.  Thus 
we  were  all  made  comparatively  happy,  but  the  parting 
scene  was  not  all  unfelt ;  my  own  vision  might  have 
been  so  impaired  by  surplus  moisture  as  to  disentitle  it 
to  respect,  but  I  fancied  I  could  detect  a  wee  bit  globule 
struggling  to  escape  from  the  philosophical  eye  of  Mrs. 
Anderson,  who  carried  with  her  my  heartfelt  thanks 
for  the  past  and  unfeigned  good  wishes  for  her  future 
welfare.  Oh!  how  sad  to  think  of  so  noble  a  mind 
being  left  to  brood  over  her  troubles  alone,  hopelessly 
deserted  by  one  who  had  sworn  to  cherish  and  protect 
her  while  life  lasts.  Mrs.  Jones,  my  benefactress, 
deprived  by  death  of  nearly  all  that  makes  life  desirable, 


150  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

craving  in  her  loneliness  for  society,  arranged  with  Mrs. 
Anderson  to  share  her  dwelling  in  Islington  until  she 
should  carry  out  her  intentions  of  going  home  to  her 
father's  house  at  Cockpen,  which,  after  a  considerable 
time,  she  did,  and  on  my  last  visit  to  Scotland  I  had 
the  pleasure  of  a  chat  with  her  on  past  events.  What 
became  of  James  Anderson  I  never  knew  and  scarcely 
cared. 

An  event  happened  in  the  village  which  caused  some 

sensation  about  this  time.  John  Thomas ,  plumber 

and  house  painter,  High  street,  had  four  children  by  a 
former  wife  and  four  by  his  present  wife.  The  father 
of  the  first  wife  died,  leaving  ^"1,000  in  the  3  per  cent 
consols  for  the  benefit  of  her  children  when  they  re- 
spectively came  of  age.  The  eldest  son,  John,  was  a 
wild,  drunken  youth,  who  in  one  of  his  paroxysms  of 
rage  threatened  to  stab  his  father.  He  then  went  to 
sea,  and  at  the  close  of  his  then  distant  voyage  would 
be  twenty-one  years  of  age  and  of  course  come  in 
for  his  £250.  Now  his  father,  dreading  his  presence 
on  his  return,  and  believing  that  the  possession  of  this 
money  would  only  tend  to  increase  the  evil  habits  of 
the  boy  in  an  unsound  state  of  mind,  bethought  himself 
of  intercepting  his  obtaining  it,  and  after  much  cogita- 
tion in  an  evil  hour  forged  his  co-trustee's  name,  a 
Mr.  -  — ,  made  application  for  the  consols  through 
the  medium  of  a  broker,  and  was  a  prisoner  in  the 
compter,  all  in  the  same  day.  Not  being  acquainted 

with  Mr. ,  and  decidedly  opposed  to  him  in  politics, 

I  was  not  a  little  surprised  to  receive  a  letter  on  the 
following  morning  from  his  legal  adviser,  Mr.  Gregson, 
requesting  an  interview  at  the  prison.  My  better  feel- 


OF    DAVID   JOHNSTON.  151 

ings  prompting,  I  yielded  to  his  desire  and  repaired  to 
the  scene  of  anguish.  A  description  of  this  meeting 
lies  beyond  my  power:  to  depict  the  condition  of  the 
deeply  contrite  prisoner,  the  painful  distress  of  his 
young  wife,  with  a  baby  at  her  breast,  and  that  of  his 
daughter  Emma,  who  would  accompany  her  stepmother 
to  the  jail.  Even  Mr.  Gregson  evinced  feeling  of  dis- 
tress, and  addressing  himself  to  me,  said  :  "  We  have  sent 
for  you,  Mr.  Johnston,  to  ask  you  to  do  an  act  of  kind- 
ness to  this  miserable  family,  the  head  of  which  has 
brought  ruin  upon  it  by  an  act  which  would  a  short 
time  ago  have  cost  him  his  life.  Happily,  the  law  of 
late  has  been  humanized,  but  the  punishment  awaiting 
the  crime  of  forgery  is  necessarily  still  severe,  namely, 
transportation  to  a  penal  settlement,  the  maximum 
being  for  life  and  the  minimum  for  seven  years.  Now, 
with  a  view  to  shorten  the  term  as  much  as  possible,  I 

have  advised  Mr. to  throw  himself  on  the  mercy 

of  the  court  by  pleading  guilty  of  the  crime  with  which 
he  will  in  all  probability  be  charged,  and  I  am  glad 
he  has  consented  to  do 'so.  According  to  law  his  real 
estate  on  his  conviction  will  be  confiscated  to  the  crown, 
and  his  wife  and  family  thereby  reduced  to  pauperism. 
To  obviate  this  additional  calamity  we  have  taken  the 
liberty  of  asking  your  aid.  I  have  prepared  a  deed  of 

trust  and  guardianship  to  be  subscribed  by  Mr. , 

giving  the  power  to  act  into  the  hands  of  any  person 
he  thinks  proper  to  appoint,  and  all  parties  concerned 
join  me  in  requesting  you  to  be  kind  enough  to  assume 
the  responsibility  for  the  sake  of  the  suffering  family. 
The  duties  will  be  simply  to  collect  the  rents  of  eight 
houses  in  Hill  street,  Peckham,  quarterly,  and  out  of 


152  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL    REMINISCENCES 

the  proceeds  pay  weekly  to  Mrs. such  allowance  as 

the  creditors   of    Mr. shall   deem    meet    for   the 

maintenance  of  the  family,  the  balance  to  accumulate 
enough  to  warrant  a  dividend,  which  you  shall  call 
whensoever  the  cash  in  hand  is  sufficient  to  justify  the  ex- 
pense." To  the  proposition  I  found  it  impossible  to  say 
nay.  Nor  was  the  document  completed  any  too  soon, 
for  the  trial  came  off  earlier  than  was  anticipated,  the 
poor  man  received  his  sentence  of  seven  years'  trans- 
portation beyond  the  seas,  and  I  found  myself  in  charge 
of  his  wife  and  seven  children  during  all  the  long  years 
of  his  absence.  My  wife  invited  Emma  to  live  with 
us,  which  she  did  for  many  years.  The  compassion 
and  sympathy  of  the  neighbors  ran  high  in  favor  of  the 
poor  fellow,  now  he  was  condemned,  many  believing 
that  he  never  intended  to  appropriate  the  money  to 
himself,  and  that  he  spoke  the  truth  when  he  said  that 
the  only  motive  which  prompted  the  perpetration  of 
the  crime  was  an  earnest  desire  to  check  the  downward 
progress  of  his  first-born  son.  Imbued  with  similar 
notions,  and  believing  the  severity  of  the  punishment 
indicated  a  lack  of  discrimination  in  the  case,  being 
strengthened  by  the  popular  sentiment,  I  conceived 
the  idea  of  keeping  him  by  a  well-timed  effort  at  home. 
I  first  went  to  the  seat  of  the  learned  leisure  of  the 
vicar  and  asked  him  to  head  a  petition  to  the  prime 

minister  in  behalf  of  John  Thomas ,  with  a  view  of 

retaining  him  in  England  during  his  term  of  punish- 
ment. "  I  cannot  sign  such  a  petition,"  the  vicar  said. 
"  Will  you  be  kind  enough  to  enlighten  me  with  your 
reasons?  "  "  As  vicar  of  the  parish  of  St.  Giles,  Camber- 
well,  as  justice  of  the  peace,  as  a  conservator  of  the 


OF    DAVID    JOHNSTOX.  153 

law,  I  cannot  sanction  any  movement  that  is  contrary 
to  the  course  of  law."  "  I  hope  you  will  pardon  me,  but 
you  appear  to  mistake  the  object  of  my  mission,  which 
is  by  no  means  to  defeat  justice,  but  to  temper  justice 
with  mercy."  Most  of  the  justices  of  the  peace  refused 
to  sign  until  the  vicar  headed  the  petition.  Failing 
with  the  high  priest  I  went  to  the  poorly  paid  curate, 
who  supported  a  family  on  a  miserable  pittance,  Rev. 
H.  W.  C.  Hyde,  who  readily  headed  the  list ;  the  nota- 
bles of  Camberwell  quickly  followed,  and  the  petition 
was  in  two  days  swollen  to  an  enormous  magnitude.  I 
then  went  to  the  neighboring  parish  of  Lewisham, 

where had  been  in  business  in  his  early  years.    The 

rector  of  the  parish  spoke  well  of  the  poor  convict, 
and  commenced  a  list  that  everybody  signed  that  I 
could  reach  in  the  short  space  of  time  I  had  to  spare. 
On  the  following  morning,  on  my  way  to  the  Home 
Office  with  the  enormous  list  of  sympathizers,  who 
should  take  a  seat  next  to  me  in  the  omnibus  but  my 
prince  of  antagonists,  the  vicar,  who  greeted  me  kindly, 
and  was  pleased  to  express  his  admiration  of  my  inde- 
fatigabih'ty  and  pleasure  at  the  success  with  which  it 
was  met,  and  even  hoped  that  my  efforts  would  not 
be  thrown  away,  but  have  the  desired  effect.  In  fact, 
he  was  so  genial  as  to  lead  me  to  suppose  that  he 
only  required  asking  to  induce  him  to  sign  the  docu- 
ment. It  was  his  place,  I  thought,  to  lead  off.  Fol- 
lowing this  supposition  a  train  of  thought  set  in.  What 
if  he  should  the  second  time  refuse  ?  We  had  wonder- 
fully well  succeeded  without  his  aid  :  let  him  slide,  and  he 
slid.  A  cab  soon  brought  me  to  Downing  street,  West- 
minster, where  the  government  buildings  are  situated, 


154  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMIXISCENCES 

«• 

wherein  the  executive  affairs  of  England  and  her  world- 
wide colonies  are  transacted.  I  had,  in  the  canvass  of 
the  first  two  general  elections  of  reformed  parliaments, 
taken  an  active  part,  more  particularly  in  behalf  of  our 
popular  member,  Benjamin  Hawes,  Jr.,  who  in  the 
interim  had  been  elevated  to  the  under-secretaryship 
of  the  colonies.  Leaving  my  bulky  parcel  with  the 
liveried  porter,  I  was  ushered  into  the  waiting  hall  of  the 
Colonies  office,  which  was  filled  nearly  to  crowding  by 
representatives  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  many  in 
their  native  costumes,  waiting  their  turn  for  audience. 
To  my  agreeable  surprise,  on  sending  in  my  card  I  was 
immediately  favored  with  an  interview.  Hastily  in- 
forming Mr.  Hawes  of  that  which  had  been  done  in  the 
case,  I  besought  him  to  lose  no  time  in  assisting  me 
through. 

DIALOGUE:  "What  do  you  want  of  me?"  "An 
introduction  to  the  premier."  "  You  know  not  what 
you  ask."  "  I  have  ventured  to  ask,  and  I  beseech  you 
not  to  delay, — to-morrow  if  possible."  "  Who  is  this 

Mr. ?     I  don't  know  him."     "It  is  not  likely  you 

should  know  him,  for  he  was  one  of  our  bitterest  polit- 
ical enemies  when  you  were  running  for  Lambeth  on 
both  occasions,  but  we  lose  no  prestige  in  helping  a 
Tory  out  of  a  scrape."  "  Where  is  your  petition  ? " 
"  In  the  outer  office."  Having  the  documents  before 
him  he  expressed  surprise  at  the  number  of  names, 
many  of  whom  were  those  of  his  friends  and  political  ad- 
mirers. He  then  said  that  to  present  a  petition  to  the 
minister  in  person  would  not  be  in  accordance  with  the 
established  rule.  "  You  will  therefore  please  to  leave 
it  with  me,  and  I  will  present  it  in  due  form,  and  also  do 


OF   DAVID   JOHNSTON.  155 

all  I  can  to  promote  its  prayer.  But  with  regard  to 
the  other  feature  of  your  request,  namely,  an  interview 
with  the  premier,  I  am  afraid  I  can  hold  out  no  hope. 
Business  at  the  present  juncture  is  so  pressing  that  I 
am  loth  to  trespass  on  his  time,  even  for  a  moment." 
I  rose  to  depart,  offering  an  apology  for  having  occu- 
pied so  much  of  his  valuable  time,  when,  placing  his 
hand  in  mine,  looking  me  straight  in  the  eye,  and 
doubtless  detecting  the  illy-concealed  workings  of  dis- 
appointment therein  depicted,  said :  "  Good-day,  my 
dear  friend  ;  be  not  discouraged,  we  know  nothing  of 
to-morrow."  On  the  following  day  I  received  a  note 
to  call  at  his  office  next  morning,  which  summons  I 
gladly  obeyed,  and  speedily  found  myself,  under  the 
auspices  of  Mr.  Hawes,  in  the  presence  of  the  ruler  of 
the  British  empire.  The  kindly  greeting  and  sim- 
ple mannerism  of  the  premier  inspired  me  with  cour- 
age. I  felt  at  ease  when  he  said,  "  I  have  examined 

your   petition  in  behalf  of  J.  T.  ,  handed  to  me 

by  Mr.  Hawes,  asking  a  commutation  of  his  sentence 
of  seven  years.  You  have  expressed  a  wish  to  see  me 
on  the  subject  ;  pray  give  me  your  views  and  I  will 
listen."  What  I  said  I  know  not.  But  a  favorable 
impression  was  evinced  by  the  receipt  of  the  following 
note: 

Dear  Sir, — I  have  to  inform  you  that  the  sentence  of  John  Thomas 

has  been  commuted  from  seven  years'  transportation  to  a  penal 

settlement  to  two  years  in  Portsmouth  dockyard. 

(Signed,)  BENJAMIN  HAWES,  JR. 

The  joy  of  Mrs. ,  of  Emma  (who  was  now  one 

of  us),  and  the  family  was  unbounded.  The  congratu- 
lations of  the  parishioners  were  numerous  and  sincere. 


15G  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES. 

During  the  period  of  his  servitude  he  conducted  him- 
self with  marked  propriety,  and  became  very  useful  to 
the  government,  which  secured  him  many  privileges, 
and  even  wages  for  extra  work.  Poor  Emma  received 
her  periodical  letters  from  her  father,  whom  she  dearly 
loved.  They  were  generally  satisfactory,  though  pe- 
rused by  the  authorities.  His  black  locks  had  become 
a  sable  silvered,  but  his  health  was  excellent ;  nothing 
to  complain  of  in  the  treatment,  the  restrictions  falling 
short  of  the  deserts  of  his  folly.  At  length,  restored  to 
his  manhood,  he  reached  his  home  under  the  shades  of 
night,  and  in  the  same  hour,  in  the  presence  of  Emma, 
in  my  parlor,  poured  out  his  soul  in  gratitude  for  what 
had  been  done  in  the  behalf  of  himself  and  family.  A 
debtor  and  creditor  account  of  my  stewardship  I  handed 
him,  with  the  balance  in  hand  ;  "  and  now,"  he  said,  with 
unspeakable  thanks,  "  for  what  you  have  done  for  us,  I 
hope  you  will  pardon  me  asking  a  continuance  of  your 
legislation  for  a  short  time.  I  have  had  an  offer  for 
the  property  in  Hill  street,  which  would  leave  a  balance 
of  £400  clear  insmy  hands,  but  I  cannot  overcome 
the  horror  of  meeting  those  with  whom  I  have  done 
business.  I  must  therefore  not  only  leave  Peckham,  but 
the  line  of  business  I  am  in,  and  should  like  to  avail  my 
self  of  your  advice."  I  said,  "  It  is  strange,  but  there  is 
advertised  in  the  Times  of  to-day  a  snug  little  shop  in 
my  line  of  business  in  the  village  of  Acton,  Middlesex. 
Let  us  ride  out  there  to-morrow,  examine  the  books, 
look  around,  and  judge  of  its  value."  We  went,  we  saw, 
we  bought.  Two  years  afterward  I  found  the  family  all 
well  and  prosperous.  On  my  way  home  I  called  on  a 
friend,  and  while  seated  in  his  garden  Cocking  passed 


OF   DAVFD   JOHXSTOX.  157 

over  our  heads  in  his  parachute,  which  was  fearfully 
oscillating,  from  the  car  attached  to  Green's  Nassau 
balloon.  He  was  only  going  up  about  a  mile  or  so,  as 
was  announced,  to  astonish  the  natives  by  showing 
how  easy  it  is  to  counteract  the  disastrous  consequences 
of  a  rapid  obedience  to  the  law  of  gravitation  by  means 
of  a  judicious  manipulation  of  the  air  we  breathe. 
The  last  of  poor  Cocking  was  related  by  the  aeronaut 
on  his  return  in  the  evening  to  Vauxhall  gardens, 
whence  they  ascended  early  on  the  same  afternoon. 
"  When  they  had  reached  the  altitude  required,"  said 
Mr.  Green,  "  Mr.  Cocking  hallooed  out :  '  Green,  cut 
the  rope.'  I  replied  '  that  I  was  afraid  to  do  so  ;  that 
from  my  standpoint  the  extreme  oscillation  made  it 
appear  unsafe.'  '  If  you  don't,  I  will.'  '  That  would 
make  it  unsafe.'  '  Cut  the  rope,'  were  the  last  words  of 
poor  Cocking.  I  reluctantly  did  so,  and  relieved  of 
his  superincumbent  weight  the  Nassau  ascended  too 
rapidly  to  be  pleasant.  In  half  a  minute  I  was  out  of 
sight  of  the  bold  adventurer.  A  flash  of  lightning 
could  scarcely  be  more  evanescent  than  was  my  gaze 
upon  his  hopeless  fate.  He  was  found  in  a  field  near 
Lewisham,  in  Kent,  with  every  bone  in  his  body 
broken." 

About  this  period  one  of  the  petty  lions  of  London 
was  to  repair  to  some  isolated  spot  outside  the  din  of  the 
city  favorable  to  hearing  the  public  time-pieces  proclaim 
the  midnight  hour.  Indulging  in  the  whim  under  the 
lamplight  on  Vauxhall  bridge,  watch  in  hand,  I  might 
have  been  found  timing  the  process.  The  light  breeze 
from  the  east  proved  propitious  in  wafting  on  the  broad 
and  silent  bosom  of  the  Thames  the  varied  sounds  emit- 


158  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES. 

ted  from  the  wide  metropolitan  expanse,  a  medley  of 
sounds  not  easy  to  describe.  The  period  required  on 
that  occasion  to  strike  the  hour  of  twelve  covered 
eight  long  minutes.  The  authorities  of  the  Polytech- 
nic Institution  subsequently  failed  to  perceive  the 
force  of  Mr.  Bain's*  proposition  to  have  the  clocks  of 
London,  by  means  of  electricity,  strike  every  hour  sim- 
ultaneously. We  are  now,  in  the  year  1833,  develop- 
ing the  fruits  of  the  great  discovery  of  Benjamin 
Franklin,  who,  about  1760,  by  means  of  his  ingenious 
kiting,  chained  the  lightning  to  his  scientific  will. 

The  Princess  Victoria,  on  the  twenty-fourth  day  of 
May,  1837,  became  of  age  (eighteen  years  old).  Con- 
siderable anxiety  was  aroused  by  certain  unpleasant, 
iU-defined  rumors,  said  to  have  emanated  from  her 
uncle,  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  King  of  Hanover,  touch- 
ing the  succession  to  the  throne,  which,  on  feeling  the 
pulse  of  the  nation,  the  friends  of  the  Duke  suffered  to 
subside. 


*Alex.  Bain  laid  claim  to  the  distinction  of  being  the  discoverer  or  inventor  of 
the  electric  telegraph,  but  Mr.  Morse  proved  too  strong  for  the  humble  Scotch 
journeyman  watchmaker  in  American  courts  of  law,  and  the  man  who  constructed 
the  electric  telegraph  between  London  and  Blackwall  had  to  take  a  back  seat. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


Is  there  for  honest  poverty  wha  hangs  his  head  an'  a'  that? 
The  coward  slave  we  pass  him  by,  an'  daur  be  puir  for  a'  that. 

— Burns. 

THE  poor  law  of  England  (of  43d  Elizabeth) 
was  intended  as  a  compensation  for  the  loss 
which  the  helpless  poor  had  sustained  by  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  religious  houses  throughout  the  land,  the 
work  of  her  father,  Henry  VIII.  Officers  under  this 
new  law  were  elected  in  open  vestry  on  Easter  Tues- 
day, for  one  year,  with  the  option  of  serving  or  paying 
a  fine,  which  for  an  overseer  was  .£100.  If  elected 
a  second  time  it  was  left  to  the  elected  party's 
option  to  serve  or  not.  This  enactment  had  stood 
the  test  of  two  centuries,  but  became  the  basis  of 
fearful  abuse.  Indeed,  whatever  good  pertained  to 
the  enactment  of  good  Queen  Bess  was  pretty  nearly 
extinct  by  the  time  it  descended  to  our  days  of  the 
Sailor  King.  The  management  of  the  poor  in  those 
days,  like  the  government  of  Ireland  in  the  present, 
appeared  to  defy  all  legislatorial  tinkering.  All  labor- 
saving  machinery  was  speedily  consumed  by  the  torch 
of  the  midnight  incendiary.  The  farmer  had  his  land 
tilled  by  the  roundsman  system,  than  which  a  system 
more  destructive  to  the  self-sustaining  independence  of 
the  individual  could  not  be  conceived  short  of  the 
nether  regions.  Consequently,  the  poor-rate  was  fear- 
fully augmented,  so  that  the  richer  the  land  the 

159 


160  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   KEMINTSCENCES 

higher  the  rate.  Thus,  while  seven  shillings  in  the 
pound  sufficed  for  the  comparatively  poor  land  of  the 
center  of  Surrey,  it  rose  to  twenty-two  shillings  in  the 
pound  in  the  rich  wealds  of  Kent.  For  a  practical 
knowledge  of  the  then  existing  state  of  things  in  Eng- 
land I  refer  the  reader  to  the  preamble  of  Lord 
Brougham's  Poor  Law  Amendment  Act. 

Individually  the  parish  officers  of  Camberwell  were 
in  support  of  Brougham's  efforts,  and  such  measures 
as  were  carried  in  that  spirit  during  their  first  year's 
service  were  by  the  rate-payers  duly  appreciated,  and 
the  means  of  leading  a  large  majority  to  make  requisi- 
tion for  our  services  for  another  year,  which  was  com- 
plied with  on  understanding  that  to  reassess  the  parish 
would  be  their  earliest  endeavor,  and  when  such  were 
fairly  before  the  parish  the  people  craved  the  active 
co-operation  of  all  who  were  desirous  of  such  a  meas- 
ure. The  vote  was  such  as  to  give  rise  to  the  coarse 
Tory  opposition  above  spoken  of.  Baldwin,  the  pro- 
prietor of  the  Standard  (the  man  who  said  in  his  jour- 
nal that  it  would  be  to  the  advantage  of  England  were 
all  her  manufactories  destroyed),  under  the  auspices 
of  the  vicar,  led  the  opposition  against  the  over- 
seers and  called  for  a  revision  of  the  vote  of  Easter. 
There  being  no  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  officers  a 
meeting  was  convened  by  them,  as  it  were,  for  the 
purpose  of  trying  themselves,  the  chair  occupied  by  the 
vicar  of  St.  Giles,  Camberwell,  and  the  hall  crammed. 
They  having  called  a  meeting  it  devolved  on  the  offi- 
cers to  make  known  its  purpose.  Daniel  Triquet  said: 
"  The  object  of  this  meeting  is  to  revise  or  rescind  cer- 
tain resolutions  passed  at  a  former  meeting  of  your- 


OF   DAVID    JOHNSTON".  161 

selves.  The  action  referred  to  on  Easter  Tuesday 
placed  in  power  your  present  officers,  and  if  I  may  be 
allowed  to  speak  for  my  brother  officers,  in  common 
with  myself,  I  would  say  that  while  we  enjoy  the  honor 
of  the  trust  which  has  been  placed  in  our  hands  we  are 
by  no  means  insensible  of  the  nature  of  its  responsi- 
bilities. We  leave  the  investigation  of  our  conduct  in 
your  hands  untrammeled."  A  spirited  meeting  termi- 
nated in  a  vote  of  thanks  to  and  an  expression  of  confi- 
dence in  the  present  officers  of  St.  Giles,  Camberwell. 
Not  a  soul  left  the  parish  in  consequence  of  our  over- 
assessments,  as  they  were  termed,  but  to  allay  all  bitter 
hostility  we  established  a  committee  of  appeal  of  eight- 
een gentlemen,  before  whom  cases  in  dispute  should  be 
brought,  all  expenses  in  the  way  of  appraising  to  fall 
on  the  party  found  in  error.  This  scheme  worked 
admirably,  threw  oil  upon  the  troubled  waters,  and 
brought  the  labors  of  the  three  triumphant  parochial 
officers  to  a  successful  termination,  having  by  dint 
of  much  labor  and  some  tongue-fighting  augmented 
the  rental  assessable  to  the  extent  of  .£48,000  and 
reduced  the  poor-rate  from  five  shillings  in  the  pound 
to  three  shillings  and  nine  pence  in  the  pound  per 
annum.  The  novelty  of  voting  for  members  of 
parliament  now  presented  itself  to  the  middle  class, 
and  our  reform  club  was  far  from  being  idle  in  canvass- 
ing our  district  of  the  metropolitan  borough  of 
Lambeth  on  behalf  of  the  two  successful  candidates, 
Charles  E.  D'Eyncourt  and  Benjamin  Hawes,  Junior, 
Esquires.  One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  reform  parlia- 
ment was  to  pass  the  poor  law  amendment  act.  Hence- 
forth all  parochial  matters  were  placed  under  the 
11 


162  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL    REMINISCENCES 

management  of  a  board  of  guardians,  eighteen  in 
number,  elected  by  the  plurality  of  voting  system. 
That  is,  according  to  the  extent  of  the  voter's  assessment 
to  the  support  of  the  poor  shall  his  power  to  dispense 
it  be  regulated.  Now  this  measure,  according  to  its  pre- 
amble, among  other  things  fully  intended  to  eschew  all 
semblance  to  the  older  system,  even  to  the  exclusion 
of  those  persons  who  participated  in  the  affairs  of  the 
past  fossil.  I  therefore  regard  the  fact  of  placing  my 
name  among  the  successful  candidates  for  the  honor  of 
sitting  on  that  board  as  one  of  the  most  unmistakable 
compliments  and  marks  of  esteem  that  my  fellow-par- 
ishioners could  confer.  At  this  board  I  felt  less  at 
home  than  I  did  at  the  old  work-house  board,  of  which 
the  overseer  was  necessarily  a  prominent  member  and 
the  board  itself  composed  of  materials  much  more  in 
unison  with  my  own  position  in  society — several  my  in- 
timate neighbors.  Here  I  am  in  contact  with  men  mov- 
ing in  a  more  elevated  atmosphere,  higher  in  wealth, 
in  education,  influence,  in  habit  of  prestige,  and  that 
which  I  will  not  rank  among  the  higher  attributes,  and 
which  happily  was  confined  to  a  few — contemptible 
hauteur.  What  did  I  possess,  or  did  I  possess  any- 
thing, to  fit  me  for  such  society?  I'll  look  in  and  see. 
On  self-examination  I  found  a  mass  of  contrarieties,  the 
predominant  ingredient  being  a  stubborn,  unconquerable 
Scotch  pride,  which  enabled  me  to  look  and  laugh  at  airs 
assumed,  and  which  can  be  turned  to  practical  advan- 
tage if  kept  under  control.  I  also  found  my  knowledge 
of  the  poor  of  the  parish  a  powerful  incentive  to  respect 
and  deference  on  the  part  of  my  seventeen  compeers, 
who  were  doubtless  practiced  in  eleemosynary  relief,  but 


OF   DAVID    JOHNSTON.  163 

found  that  to  administer  relief  to  the  poor  by  act  of 
parliament  involved  duties  with  which  they  were  en- 
tirely unacquainted,  and  for  necessary  information  had 
to  be  beholden  to  the  ex-overseer  or  to  the  paid  officers 
of  the  parish,  who  might  not  be  present  when  wanted. 
It  required  but  a  few  evenings  to  find  ease  and  homely 
comfort  in  the  meetings.  An  anecdote  told  by  Sir 
John  Pirie,  one  of  the  most  efficient  members  of  the 
board,  is  worthy  of  a  place  here  as  an  illustration  of 
Scottish  character.  After  a  hard  afternoon's  work  the 
board  relapsed  into  a  chatty,  social  mood,  the  conver- 
sation— on  the  constituent  elements  necessary  to  form  a 
business  man — shaping  itself  into  a  friendly  argument. 
Integrity,  punctuality,  perseverance  and  other  attributes 
shared  the  common  praise,  and  their  opposites  the  com- 
mon censure.  But  the  question-  assumed  a  more  defi- 
nite shape  as  to  which  of  the  three  first-named  qualities 
was  the  most  important  ingredient  in  the  compound. 
After  several  speeches  Sir  John  arose  and  said,  "  I  am 
gratified  with  the  remarks  made  on  this  important  sub- 
ject, and  feel  inclined  to  depart  from  my  usual  practice 
of  silence  on  occasions  of  this  kind  and  to  say  a  few 
words  in  behalf  of  the  opinions  advanced  in  favor  of 
perseverance.  Some  twenty  years  ago  I  was  informed 
that  a  ragged  but  cleanly  boy  had  called  at  the 
outer  office  of  my  establishment  in  the  city,  day 
after  day,  at  precisely  the  same  hour,  for  more  than  a 
week.  'What  does  he  want?'  '  He  wants  to  see  you.' 
'  Have  you  asked  if  he  has  any  business  with  the 
house  ?'  '  I  have,  sir,  and  he  answers  in  the  affirmative, 
but  it  can  only  be  done  with  you  personally.'  '  Is  he 
likely  to  call  again  ?'  '  I  should  think  him  dead  should 


164  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

he  fail  to  make  his  call  at 'ten  to-morrow  morning.' 
'Then  if  he  does  call,  and  I  am  here,  bring  him  in.' 
Sure  enough,  the  sonorous  sound  of  Bow  Bell  had 
not  ceased  to  vibrate  the  hour  of  ten  when  the  timid 
knock  of  the  little  fellow  was  the  open  sesame  to  the 
business  establishment  of  the  greatest  ship  owner  in 
the  world,  the  man  who  had  but  a  few  months  ago  de- 
scended from  the  loftiest  seat  of  the  greatest  city  in 
the  world.  His  little  body  clothed  in  a  shabby  cordu- 
roy suit,  out  at  elbows,  and  his  curly  pow  surmounted 
by  a  blue  bonnet,  with  shoes  barely  keeping  his  toes 
from  the  stony  street,  and  a  small  bundle  squeezed  so 
tightly  under  his  arm  as  to  indicate  fear  that  his  prop- 
erty was  jeopardized  by  the  interview,  there  stood 
the  boy,  bonnet  in  hand,  before  me,"  said  Sir  John, 
"  inspiring  confidence  at  the  first  glance.  Still  I  deemed 
it  a  duty  thus  to  interrogate  him  closely : 

" '  I  am  informed  you  called  repeatedly  at  the  office 
to  see  me ;  now  I  stand  before  you,  let  me  ask  you 
what  is  your  business  with  me?' 

"  '  I  want  employment,  sir.' 

"  '  Employment?  Is  that  all?  ' 

" '  It  is  everything  to  me,  sir.' 

" '  That  maybe  true,  but  mine  is  not  an  employment 
office.  Did  any  one  tell  you  to  apply  to  me  for  em- 
ployment? ' 

"'Yes,  my  mither  telt  me,  sir.  She  said  that  if 
ever  I  be  spared  to  reach  London  to  be  sure  and  ask 
your  guidance.  She  telt  me  you  had  been  a  puir  lad- 
die once  yersel',  and  that  ye  left  the  toon  o'  Dunse  wi' 
very  little  siller  in  yer  pouch,  and  ye  had  only  half  a 
croon  when  ye  reached  London;  that  ye  was  a  guid 


OF   DAVID   JOHNSTON.  165 

man,  that  ye  read  yer  Bible,  that  ye  prospered  in  busi- 
ness, that  the  folks  o'  London  loved  ye  and  made  ye 
Lord  Mayor,  that  the  folks  o'  Dunse  were  proud  o'  ye, 
and  that  - 

"  Here  I  had  to  stop  him  by  asking  him  where  his 
mother  was  that  was  so  lavish  in  her  praises  of  an 
individual  she  could  not  possibly  know. 

"  '  Know  ?  she  kens  ye  weel,  my  faither  was  second 
gardener  o'  Dunse  Castle ;  he  died  whan  I  was  young ; 
my  mither  has  since  then  worked  hard  tae  keep  me  at 
the  schule.  Her  knowledge  of  you  and  your  family  was 
during  her  young  and  happy  days.  She  aften  made  me 
greet  in  speakin'  o'  them,  and  no  that  seldom  grat 
herselV 

" '  How  did  you  get  so  far  from  home  ? ' 

"  '  I  started  on  fit,  but  had  mony  a  lift.' 

"  '  How  much  money  did  you  possess  on  starting  on 
a  journey  of  four  hundred  miles  on  foot  ? ' 

"  '  Nine  shillings,  the  wages  of  the  half  year's  herd- 
ing in  the  Lammermuirs.' 

"  I  confess,"  said  Sir  John,  "  to  a  little  suspicion 
from  his  ready  answers,  and  trying  him  in  another  way. 
'  Please  to  name  the  prominent  men  of  Dunse  when 
you  left.'  And  it  was  grateful  to  my  ear,  being  a  native 
of  the  place,  to  listen  to  a  long,  clear  roll  of  clergymen, 
school-masters,  doctors,  lawyers,  merchants  and  trades- 
men, which  he  rattled  off,  many  of  whom  were  familiar 
names  and  dearly  beloved  friends.  Seeing  that  I  was 
losing  ground  I  ceased  to  interrogate,  and  stooped  to 
business.  '  What  can  you  do  should  I  make  room  in 
this  office  for  you  ?  ' 

" '  'Deed,  I  can  do  but  little,  but  I  can  soon  learn 


166  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

mair.  In  the  meantime,  I  can  supe  the  house  and.  rin 
an  errand.' 

" '  I  have  never  asked  your  name.' 

" '  Georgy  Denham.' 

"  '  Well,  George,  consider  yourself  one  of  us,  and  at 
ten  to-morrow  you  can  draw  in  advance  what  you  re- 
quire to  get  rid  of  your  corduroys.'  And  when  I  inform 
you,  gentlemen,  that  the  boy  of  twenty  years  ago  and 
the  gentleman  now  in  charge  of  my  books  is  one  and 
the  same  person  you  will  not  marvel  at  my  giving  per- 
severance the  preference  in  your  discussion." 

About  this  time  the  parish  sustained  a  serious  loss. 
The  new  system  of  heating  buildings  by  hot  air  rami- 
fying in  pipes  had  been  two  years  in  operation  in  the 
grand  old  parish  church,  when  the  smell  of  smoulder- 
ing fire  on  the  evening  of  a  very  cold  Sunday  was  felt. 
The  wardens  went  through  the  form  of  a  superficial 
examination,  locked  the  doors,  and  pocketing  the  keys 
left  the  ancient  Gothic  edifice  to  its  fate.  By  eight 
o'clock  on  the  following  morning  a  mass  of  black  ruins 
marked  the  spot  whereon  stood  one  of  the  finest  speci- 
mens of  its  kind  for  seven  hundred  years,  dating  back 
to  the  days  of  Edward  the  Confessor.  The  rebuilding 
of  the  church  gave  rise  to  a  bitter  controversy.  The 
taste  of  the  reverend  incumbent  could  not  be  satis- 
fied short  of  a  £40,000  structure.  Others,  perhaps 
equally  orthodox,  would  have  been  contented  with 
an  edifice  at  a  much  less  cost ;  a  third  party,  again, 
held  that  the  burden  of  building  a  new  church  should 
not  be  saddled  on  the  parish,  but  on  those  who  wor- 
shiped in  it.  A  well  finished  perspective  drawing  of  an 
architectural  design,  which  met  the  views  of  the 


OF    DAVID   JOHNSTON.  167 

incumbent  and  his  party,  settled  the  matter,  and  now 
St.  Giles,  Camberwell,  is  ornamented  with  a  very  costly 
accommodation  for  the  few  at  the  expense  of  the 
many. 

In  the  course  of  these  events  I  happened  to  be  eye- 
witness to  three  great  fires — the  Tower  of  London,  the 
Royal  Exchange  and  the  Houses  of  Parliament — involv- 
ing the  loss  of  historical  buildings  impossible  to  replace. 
The  Thames  tunnel  was  also  concocted,  begun  and 
finished  during  these  busy  years  of  adventure.  An 
accident  happened  in  the  process  of  construction  which 
threatened  destruction  to  the  whole  scheme.  The  ex- 
cavation had  successfully  reached  about  half-way  across, 
when  suddenly,  without  any  warning,  the  angry  Thames 
broke  in  upon  seven  poor  souls,  who  were  instantly 
washed  back  to  the  entrance,  to  find  the  doors  hung 
the  wrong  way,  and  their  retreat  irremediably  cut  off. 
This  untoward  event  cast  a  gloom  on  the  scientific 
world,  of  which  the  community  partook,  all  but  the 
great  inventor  himself,  who  immediately  applied  his 
brain  to  the  remedy.  He  stopped  the  leak  by  means  of 
sandbags  and  clay,  and  by  powerful  pumps  emptied  the 
cavity  in  an  incredibly  short  space  of  time,  went  on 
to  its  satisfactory  completion,  thereby  setting  the  egg 
on  end  to  all  tunnel  builders  in  the  future. 

Not  long  after  this  achievement  Mr.  Brunei  met 
with  a  personal  accident  which  very  nearly  cost  him 
his  valuable  life.  In  his  hours  of  relaxation  from  busi- 
ness he  was  wont  to  play  with  the  children,  making 
himself  one  of  them,  and  on  one  occasion  he  was  dis- 
tending their  wondering  eyes  by  sleight-of-hand  tricks 
with  coin,  and  by  some  unaccountable  means  a  half 


168  AUTOBIOGKAPHICAL    REMINISCENCES 

sovereign  got  into  his  throat,  and  there  it  stuck  for 
several  days,  bidding  defiance  to  the  surgical  skill  of 
the  metropolis.  A  bulletin  every  half  hour  announced 
the  painful  condition  of  the  patient,  till  a  conver- 
sation was  overheard  in  the  kitchen  by  a  member  of 
the  family  which  was  anything  but  complimentary  to 
the  faculty,  one  of  the  servants  declaring  that  she 
knew  what  would  cure  her  master.  This  being  made 
known  to  the  physician  in  charge  of  the  case  he 
sought  an  interview  with  the  eloquent  maid,  who, 
being  brought  face  to  face  with  him  and  the  family, 
thought  she  was  about  to  be  rebuked  for  her  freedom 
of  speech,  but  was  greatly  relieved  by  a  kind  interroga- 
tory on  the  part  of  the  doctor,  if  she  would  please 
explain  the  theory  of  the  curative  she  spoke  of  in  the 
kitchen  last  evening  touching  the  case  in  hand,  stating 
that  in  the  event  of  its  being  reasonable  he  might  be 
induced  to  avail  himself  of  it,  and  if  successful  she  alone 
should  reap  the  honor.  Thus  encouraged,  the  girl  stated 
that  while  in  the  service  of  a  family  in  Scarborough  one 
of  her  fellow-servants,  playing  with  a  silver  thimble  and 
pretending  to  swallow  it,  got  it  so  fixed  in  her  throat 
that  it  baffled  all  the  skill  of  the  doctors  to  remove  it. 
Everybody  thought  she  must  die,  when  a  young  doctor 
from  Newcastle,  hearing  of  the  case,  suggested  that  as  a 
dernier  ressort  the  patient  should  be  suspended  by  her 
heels.  This  experiment  was  put  in  force,  and  while  in 
that  position  it  was  fearful  to  witness  her  struggles  for 
breath  ;  she  grew  black  in  the  face,  but,  thank  God  !  the 
thimble  tumbled  on  the  floor.  The  physician  listened 
to  the  girl's  simple  story,  and  lost  no  time  in  gravely 
submitting  the  proposition  that  such  an  experiment 


OF    DAVID    JOHNSTON".  169 

might  be  tried  with  Mr.  Brunei.  The  family,  having 
lost  all  hope  of  saving  his  life,  readily  acquiesced,  and 
accordingly  the  great  engineer  was  subjected  to  the 
painful  ordeal,  and  a  nation  had  to  thank  God  that  the 
insignificant  metallic  representation  of  a  paltry  sum  of 
ten  shillings  trundled  on  the  carpet.  It  is  needless 
here  to  observe  that  the  loquacious  servant  was  not 
forgotten  by  the  liberal  family  to  whose  happiness  she 
unwittingly  contributed.  Another  extraordinary  sur- 
gical case  transpired  about  this  time.  The  laws  of 
China  are  based  on  the  philosophy  of  Confucius,  who 
seemed  to  have  had  an  overweening  regard  for  human 
blood,  so  much  so,  that  even  in  the  process  of  neces- 
sary healing  there  should  not  be  a  drop  spilled. 

I  make  mention  of  the  case  of  Hoo  Loo  to  show  the 
folly  of  such  an  enactment  as  is  built  on  this  dread  of 
blood-letting  in  China.  This  poor  fellow  had  a  tumor 
on  the  lower  part  of  his  abdomen,  the  removal  of 
which,  taken  in  time,  it  was  asserted  by  the  faculty, 
was  susceptible  of  being  performed  in  safety.  But  in  the 
event  of  a  failure  in  the  use  of  the  scalpel,  so  that  the 
patient  dies  in  consequence  of  its  application,  the  life 
of  the  surgeon  using  it  is  called  for  to  satisfy  the  law. 
Hoo  Loo,  whose  rapidly  increasing  appendage  now 
touched  the  ground,  seeing  his  end  approaching,  agreed 
to  accompany  the  physician  of  a  London  ship  for  the 
purpose  of  having  it  removed. 

This  case  was  put  under  the  care  of  Sir  Aston  Key, 
at  Guy's  Hospital,  Southwark,  who  reluctantly  assumed 
the  responsibility,  saying  there  was  a  very  faint  hope 
of  saving  the  life  of  the  patient.  The  case  was  unprece- 
dented, and  provoked  an  immense  popular  sympathy 


170  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

in  his  preparation  for  the  knife.  An  hourly  bulletin 
was  posted  on  the  hospital  gates  announcing  his  condi- 
tion, and  when  the  morning  dawned  whereon  the  great 
test  of  human  skill  versus  human  tenacity  of  life  was 
to  be  made  the  intervals  between  the  bulletins  was 
shortened  to  five  minutes.  The  history  of  the  sequel 
of  this  interesting  case  cannot,  I  think,  be  given  better 
than  by  recording  the  bulletins  as  I  then  read  them  as 
announced  on  that  day  : 

Hoo  Loo  is  cheerful,  ate  breakfast  with  fair  appetite, 
8:30;  Hoo  Loo  preparing  for  the  operation,  9  o'clock  ; 
Hoo  Loo  in  hospital  theater,  bearing  up  well,  9:30  ; 
Hoo  Loo's  tumor  removed,  vitality  hopeful,  10 
o'clock;  Hoo  Loo  not  so  well,  a  slight  fever  set  in, 
10:30;  Hoo  Loo  rallying,  11  o'clock;  Hoo  Loo 
worse,  with  return  of  fever,  11:30;  Hoo  Loo  hopelessly 
sinking,  12  o'clock;  Hoo  Loo  worse,  hemorrhage 
set  in,  12:30;  Hoo  Loo  sinking,  no  hope  in  the  case, 

1  o'clock;  Hoo  Loo   dying,   1:30;  Hoo  Loo    died  at 

2  minutes  to  2  o'clock.     All  signed  in  person  by  Sir 
Aston  Key,  who,  next  to  Sir  Astley  Cooper,  was  at  this 
time  considered  the  leading  surgeon  in  England. 

Thus  was  added  one  more  human  life  to  the  long 
list  lying  at  the  door  of  Confucius.  But  doubtless  it 
was  not  so  intended  by  that  great  philosopher. 

I  had  had,  from  time  to  time,  friendly  visits  from 
William  Sue,  who  had  married  a  second  cousin  of 
mine,  who  had  many  years  ago  settled  in  Rouen,  in 
Normandy,  and  whose  skill  in  the  construction  of 
wind-mills  attracted  the  attention  of  Louis  Philippe, 
then  Due  D'Orleans.  William's  fortune  rose  with  his 
patron,  and  when  Charles  X  fell  from  his  high 


OF   DAVID   JOHNSTOX.  171 

estate,  and  La  Fayette,  like  a  second  Warwick, 
set  up  Louis  Philippe  in  his  place,  it  might  have  been 
said  that  his  fortune  was  made. 

The  firm  of  Messrs.  Sue,  Adkins  &  Barker  be- 
came famous  throughout  Europe  for  the  excellence  of 
their  marine  and  other  engines.  An  incident  may  here 
be  recorded  to  show  how  the  firm  stood  with  the  king. 
The  Due  de  Chartres,  the  eldest-born  of  the  king,  was 
dispatched  to  investigate  and  report  upon  the  manu- 
factures of  Rouen,  and  on  such  occasions  it  is  the  duty  of 
the  mayor  of  the  city  to  furnish  the  delegated  authority 
with  a  list  of  all  the  fabriques  (as. they  are  called)  within 
his  jurisdiction.  On  the  return  of  the  report  the  king 
discovered  the  omission  of  the  concern  in  which  he  was 
the  most  interested,  and  gave  orders  that  no  time  be 
lost  in  redeeming  the  insult  by  a  special  visit  to  Messrs. 
Sue,  Adkrns  &  Barker,  also  to  inquire  whence  the 
garbled  list.  The  prince  and  suite  were  handsomely 
entertained  by  the  firm,  and  Monsieur  Le  Maire 
snubbed  for  his  petty  jealousy  of  the  successful  English 
mechanics  whose  prosperity  was  not  in  accordance  with 
his  will.  William  had  several  patents  on  the  tapis,  cov- 
ering England  as  well  as  France;  which  brought  him 
frequently  across  the  channel,  and  every  visit  was  ac- 
companied by  a  cordial  invitation  to  return  the  visit, 
to  which  at  length  I  consented.  After  a  pleasant  day's 
sail  from  London  we  arrived  in  Boulogne  in  the  evening 
of  July  4,  1841,  and  started  for  Rouen  on  the  5th ;  slept 
at  Beauvais  and  breakfasted  at  Neufchateljrom  the  latter 
commanding  one  of  the  finest  views  in  the  world  from 
the  eminence  over  which  the  road  passes.  There  lies 
the  antique  city  of  Rouen  at  your  feet  in  all  its  rich 


172  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL    REMINISCENCES 

grandeur;  its  splendid  cathedrals  and  churches;  the 
ancient  tower  of  the  cloche  1'argent  (to  form  this  bell 
the  patriotic  ladies  of  the  time  poured  in  their  trinkets 
and  their  household  gods,  hence  the  name);  the  old 
market  place  where  stands  the  memento  of  England's 
superstitious  cruelty  in  the  statue  of  the  heroic  Maid  of 
Orleans,  pointing  out  the  spot  whereon  she  was  burned 
alive ;  Mont  St.  Catherine,  whereon  the  first  telegraph 
was  erected ;  the  noble  boulevards  that  ornament  the 
suburbs,  albeit  their  beauty  is  by  illy-chosen  foliage 
(Lombardy  poplar)  much  impaired  ;  the  beautiful  Seine, 
meandering  as  far  as -the  eye  can  reach  through  a  mag- 
nificent country  teeming  in  historical  reminiscences. 
This  was  for  centuries  the  battlefield  of  two  enlight- 
ened nations.  In  the  pleasant  suburban  village  of 
Chartreuse  I  found  my  friend  at  the  head  of  a  firm  em- 
ploying four  hundred  men.  "  Welcome  to  France,  Da- 
vid," he  said ;  "and  now  we  have  you,  make  yourself  at 
home  as  long  as  you  like  to  stay.  There  is  the  gig  at 
your  service  when  you  want  to  drive  to  the  city,  or  a 
saddle-horse  for  the  forest  when  you  desire  to  see  our 
French  scenery.  The  Juliet  fetes  are  at  hand ;  I  shall 
have  to  be  in  Paris  on  that  occasion,  and  now  look  to 
you  for  a  companion :  go  by  land,  return  by  water." 
Thus  my  sojourn  in  La  Grande  Nation  was  all  cut  and 
dried  by  Monsieur  William  Sue,  who  was  so  Frenchified 
as  to  find  it  irksome  to  speak  his  mother-tongue,  and  so 
busy  that  I  saw  but  little  of  him.  Still  he  did  introduce 
me  to  La  Socie^  d'Emulation  and  hrs  club,  but  my 
lack  of  language  took  the  edge  off  the  pleasure  I  should 
otherwise  have  had.  I  was  more  delighted  in  scanning 
the  richly  carved  monuments  in  the  interior  of  the 


OF   DAVID   JOHNSTON".  173 

cathedrals,  also  the  sculpture  and  paintings  at  the  Muse'e. 
A  few  days  prior  to  the  fetes  we  started  for  the  great 
city,  took  up  our  quarters  in  Hotel  1'Empereur,  and 
hastened  to  an  English  rendezvous  for  the  purpose  of 
meeting  the  hero  of  St.  Jean  d'Acre,  Sir  Sidney  Smith, 
but  were  five  minutes  too  late.  He  it  was  who  chal- 
lenged Napoleon  Bonaparte  to  mortal  combat,  which 
fact  proved  the  basis  of  a  romantic  and  life-long  attach- 
ment between  the  two  heroes.  We  did  Paris  as  much 
as  possible  in  the  limited  time  at  our  command,  and 
embarked  by  steamer  down  the  Seine  to  Rouen,  through 
the  most  delightfully  variegated  scenery  the  whole 
length  of  the  passage. 

Among  things  to  be  admired  in  France  is  the~  effect 
of  the  abrogation  of  the  law  of  primogeniture.  The 
census  of  1834  showed  that  in  a  population  of  33,000,- 
ooo  there  were  no  less  than  11,000,000  having  a  direct 
interest  in  the  land. 

The  manner  of  transacting  business  of  importance 
is  also  worthy  of  notice  here,  which  a  case  in  point 
may  serve  to  show : 

"  I  want  you  to  accompany  me  to  the  breakfast 

table  of  Mons. ,  the  best  boat-builder  in  Paris,  and 

observe  how  we  do  business  on  this  side  of  the  Chan- 
nel. You  will  take  notice  that  all  bargains  and  con- 
tracts are  struck  at  the  breakfast  table  by  and  through 
the  medium  of  the  lady  of  the  house;  when  signed  and 
countersigned  by  a  notary  public  they  are  binding." 
This  invitation  I  readily  accepted  from  William,  and 
spent  a  very  agreeable  morning.  The  sumptuous  meal 
over,  the  lady,  in  the  presence  of  her  husband,  dotted 
down  that  for  the  consideration  of  so  many  thousand 


174  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES. 

francs  she  bound  herself  to  deliver  to  the  firm  of  Messrs. 
Sue,  Adkins  &  Barker,  at  Rouen,  on  a  given  day,  a  vessel 
of  so  many  tons  burthen,  built  so  as  to  receive  an  engine 
of  a  given  power  and  weight,  and  to  draw  just  so  much 
water  as  to  fit  her  for  the  navigation  of  the  upper 
Seine.  His  business  completed,  and  the  Juliet  fetes 
in  commemoration  of  the  barricades  of  1830,  with  all 
their  folly  annually  perpetrated,  now  it  became  neces- 
sary to  change  the  scene  from  the  Seine  to  the 
Thames — from  happy  France  to  happier  England. 
With  that  intent  I  bade  adieu  to  Rouen  and  its  hospi- 
talities, and  embarked  on  the  steamer  Normandie  for 
Havre  de  Grace,  on  the  deck  of  which  was  sunk  a  coffin- 
shaped  sheet  of  brass  to  mark  the  spot  whereon  lay  the 
remains  of  the  great  Napoleon  on  their  way  from 
St.  Helena  to  the  Hotel  des  Invalides,  his  last  resting- 
place. 

The  scenery  of  the  lower  is  bolder  and  more  histori- 
cally interesting  than  that  of  the  upper  Seine.  Here 
the  picturesque  haunts  of  Robert  Le  Diable,  and  there 
the  birthplace  of  William  the  Conquerer,  at  old  Caen  ; 
also  the  ancient  towns  of  Harfleur  and  Honfleur,  also 
the  beautiful  chateau  and  estate  of  Tankerville,  once 
the  property  of  the  celebrated  financier,  John  Law, 
terminating  with  the  grand  old  town  and  harbor  of 
Havre  de  Grace.  Then  farewell,  France,  politically 
tempest-tossed  nation.  Already  the  seat  of  your  new 
king  is  a  seat  of  thorns.  A  few  years  later  we  find  him 
an  exile  in  Holyrood  House,  Edinburgh.  Refugees  of 
all  nations  seek  and  find  shelter  and  safety  on  this  little 
island  of  ours.  Long  may  she  maintain  her  enviable 
position  among  the  nations  of  the  earth. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


Ere  Tully  arose  in  the  zenith  of  Rome, 
Tho'  enequaled,  preceded,  the  task  was  begun — 
But  Grattan  sprung  up  like  a  God  from  the  tomb 
Of  ages,  the  first,  last,  the  Savior,  the  One. 

— Byron. 

THE  famine  of  1846  in  the  sister  kingdom,  while 
claiming  its  victims  by  tens  of  thousands,  was 
by  no  means  unfelt  in  England  and  Scotland.  My 
business  was  thereby  ruined  and  my  houses  partially 
untenanted,  so  that  I  very  soon  found  myself  unable 
to  meet  my  engagements.  After  struggling  for  more 
than  a  year,  getting  deeper  in  debt,  with  the  help  of 
friends,  and  seeing  no  other  alternative,  I  resolved  to 
bring  my  property  to  the  hammer.  I  wrote  to  Mr. 
Home,  of  whom  I  had  borrowed  .£3,000,  to  that  ef- 
fect. That  gentleman's  answer,  inclosing  a  £50  Bank 
of  England  note,  breathed  the  kindest  feelings  of 
commiseration  and  earnest  advice  against  my  resolu- 
tion to  sell,  proffering  to  forego  the  interest  on  his  loan 
until  it  was  convenient  to  pay.  But  the  die  was  cast. 
On  the  pouring  wet  28th  of  February,  1848,  property 
worth  over  £7,000  was,  from  the  paucity  of  buyers, 
sold  for  £4,600,  a  sum  which,  after  all  claims  were  sat- 
isfied, left  me  a  sorry  margin.  The  cash  from  the  sale 
was  to  be  paid  in  June,  but  delayed  until  July.  In  the 
interim  I  had  to  combat  the  friendly  objections  to  my 
choosing  the  States  for  my  new  field  of  action  on  the 
part  of  the  under  secretary  of  state  for  the  colonies. 
Mr.  Hawes  expressed  his  sorrow  that  I  should  have  to 
leave  England,  "  but  in  the  event  of  your  so  doing," 

175 


170  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES. 

he  said,  "  pray  choose  one  of  our  colonies,  that  I  may 
be  of  service  to  you,"  a  hint  that  I  have  sometimes 
thought  myself  silly  not  to  heed.  But  a  desire  I  had 
fostered  for  many  years  to  visit  the  great  republic  not 
only  conquered  all  overtures  to  the  contrary  but  served 
as  a  solace  to  the  severe  trials  I  was  then  undergoing. 
On  polemics  I  have  been  purposely  silent,  deeming 
sentiments  thereon  to  be  the  private  property  of  the 
individual.  Still  I  feel  that  to  leave  England  without 
a  passing  word  of  farewell  to  the  Society  of  Friends  I 
should  be  doing  an  injustice  to  that  warm-hearted 
people.  My  connection  for  many  years  with  the 
Anti-Slavery,  Peace,  Temperance,  and  other  kindred 
societies  had  the  effect  of  drawing  me  into  close  con- 
tact with  the  salt  of  the  earth,  among  which  stands 
prominently  the  Society  of  Friends.  My  admiration  of 
the  "  Quakers  "  induced  me  to  worship  with  that  people 
for  the  last  seven  years  of  my  English  life.  In  short,  I 
became  very  much  enamored  of  their  mode  of  worship. 
Never  before  was  I  so  impressed  with  the  true  elo- 
quence of  silence  in  waiting  upon  the  manifestation  of 
spirituality.  The  kindly  feeling  manifested  by  that 
people  on  my  departure  for  America  can  never  be 
forgotten,  and  I  regret  the  pinching  hand  of  poverty 
which  induced  me  to  decline  the  acceptance  of  the 
handsome  present  of  a  copy  of  every  book  in  their 
extensive  library. 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 


To  the  West,  to  the  West,  to  the  land  of  the  free, 
Where  mighty  Missouri  rolls  down  to  the  sea; 
Where  a  man  is  a  man  if  he's  willing  to  toil, 
It's  there  he  will  gather  the  fruits  of  the  soil. 

— Mackay. 

ON  the  nth  of  August,  1848,  on  leaving  money 
with  Mr.  Clements  for  the  transit  of  my  family,  I 
took  leave  of  all  that  was  dear  to  me,  on  my  pioneer 
excursion ;  took  passage  in  the  Britannia,  at  Liverpool, 
on  the  1 2th ;  arrived  at  Halifax  on  the  24th,  Boston  on 
the  26th.  The  enterprise  of  the  press  of  America  was 
made  manifest  by  the  news  we  brought  over  with  us 
being  sold,  of  which  we  were  the  bearers,  before  we 
reached  the  depot  to  take  our  tickets  for  New  York. 
Arriving  at  Stonington  I  was  surprised  to  find  myself 
on  board  of  a  beautiful  steamer,  the  Vanderbilt.  We 
arrived  at  New  York  on  the  following  day.  My  first 
desire  was  to  find  Frederick  Wheeler,  my  wife's  only 
brother,  whom  I  found  in  Philadelphia,  with  his  wife, 
boarding  with  a  Quaker  lady.  While  sitting  at  supper 
one  evening  one  of  the  boarders  left  the  table  in  haste 
for  a  few  minutes;  she  returned  and  asked  the  lady  if  any 
one  had  been  to  her  room.  Upon  being  answered  in  the 
negative  she  then  said,  "  I  have  lost  a  purse  of  money 
and  a  gold  watch."  Upon  this  announcement  several 
12  177 


178  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL    REMINISCENCES 

followed  her  example,  with  a  like  result.  I  took  the 
alarm  and  went  myself,  finding  my  two  trunks,  with 
locks  wrenched  off  and  the  clothes  scattered,  but  noth- 
ing stolen.  Going  to  the  theater  the  night  before  I 
put  my  money  round  my  waist.  On  the  following  day 
I  asked  the  parties  if  they  intended  applying  to  the 
police,  an  idea  which  they  seemed  to  scout,  prefer- 
ring spiritualistic  means  to  recover  their  property, — 
my  first  lesson  in  this  American  folly.  Curiosity  led 
me  to  postpone  my  journey  back  to  New  York,  to  wit- 
ness the  fun.  The  losers  went  in  a  body  to  Dr. 
Knapp,  whose  medium  sat  with  her  back  to  him,  blind- 
folded. He,  facing  the  audience,  asked  the  questions, 
and  received  the  answers  through  the  medium,  but 
nothing  touching  the  whereabouts  of  the  stolen  prop- 
erty transpired. 

I  had  arranged  with  Mr.  Earl,  an  artist,  whose 
acquaintance  I  made  in  Peckham,  and  who  intended 
to  embark  with  his  family  to  New  York,  when  they 
arrived  to  mail  a  letter  for  me,  to  be  left  till  called  for. 
I  did  call  several  times,  perceiving  by  the  papers  that 
the  vessel  had  arrived  in  which  they  embarked ;  but 
still  no  letter.  I  was  put  to  considerable  expense  to 
find  him,  which  led  us  mutually  to  call  on  the  post- 
master to  ascertain  the  reason  his  letter  was  not  deliv- 
ered to  me.  We  were  well  received  by  the  postmaster, 
who  rang  a  bell  and  demanded  the  clerk  to  deliver  a 
letter  directed  to  Mr.  Johnston,  which  the  clerk  did. 

The  postmaster  thanked  me  for  the  pains  I  had  taken, 
and  was  pleased  to  say  that  such  were  necessary  to  in- 
sure perfectibility  in  the  office.  Finding  the  character 
of  Mr.  Connoly,  the  man  discharged,  to  be  good,  I  vent- 


OF   DAVID   JOHNSTON.  179 

ured  to  beseech  the  postmaster,  on  behalf  of  his  wife 
and  three  children,  to  reconsider  his  loss  of  position, 
which  he  did,  and  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  personally 
receiving  thanks  from  both  the  employer  and  employe 
on  the  following  day.  Under  the  advice  of  Fred  I  pro- 
cured a  soldier's  warrant  for  $108,  which  was  good  for 
1 60  acres  of  land,  wheresoever  found  unpreempted  in 
Uncle  Sam's  extensive  domain.  In  quest  of  that  ideal 
home  I  started  for  the  far  west.  My  admiration  of 
the  beautiful  scenery  of  the  Hudson  was  only  sur- 
passed when  first  I  caught  a  glimpse  of  that  wonder- 
ful inland  sea  at  Buffalo,  of  which  I  had  read  so  much. 
Nor  was  it  impaired  by  a  voyage  to  Chicago  on  the 
superb  steamer  Empire  City,  which  was  delightfully 
interesting,  a  description  of  which  appeared  in  the 
London  Weekly  Dispatch.  Chicago  in  1848  was  any- 
thing but  a  tempting  place  whereon  to  pitch  one's 
tent.  "The  Tremont  House  was  then  in  the  process  of 
building,  but  such  was  the  general  aspect  of  the  town 
that  a  slice  of  its  land  in  any  part  of  it,  if  blessing  at 
all,  would  have  been  a  blessing  in  disguise.  The  state 
of  Illinois  had  just  been  formed  and  admitted  into  the 
family  of  commonwealths.  The  waters  of  the  Missis- 
sippi were  joined  to  those  of  Lake  Michigan  by  means 
of  a  canal  from  Chicago  to  Peru,  and  ground  was 
either  broken  or  about  to  be  broken  for  a  railroad  be- 
tween Chicago  and  Galena.  By  canal  I  went  to  Peoria, 
thence  to  Princeville.  In  the  neighborhood  of  this 
little  place  I  inspected  a  quarter-section  of  fine,  undu- 
lating prairie  land,  whereon  I  thought  I  might  pitch 
my  tent,  all  other  things  being  equal.  On  my  way 
back  to  the  village  I  called  at  the  only  human  dwell- 


180  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

ing  within  a  mile  of  the  spot.  It  was  a  log-cabin,  pre- 
senting a  scene  of  misery  such  as  I  have  never  seen 
the  like  before  nor  since.  The  door  was  hanging  by 
one  hinge  ;  the  window-sash  had  evidently  once  con- 
tained six  panes  of  glass,  for  one,  though  broken,  still 
remained.  The  .other  five  apertures  where  transpar- 
ency was  intended  were  now  rendered  opaque  by 
means  of  an  unseemly  mass  of  unwashed  remnants  of 
human  clothing,  not  forgetting  the  hat.  Notwith- 
standing the  forbidding  appearance  of  the  external 
aspect  of  the  domicile  I  ventured  to  essay  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  interior.  "  Unwelcome  "  stood  out  in  bold 
relief  on  the  countenance  of  the  eight  inmates.  The 
head  of  the  house  was  a  man  of  forty,  who,  though 
handsome,  evinced  the  most  villainous  expression.  His 
head  he  carried  five  feet  nine  from  the  ground  he  trod 
on ;  his  frame  was  muscular,  his  action  agile,  and  his 
black  hirsute  covering  might  have  adorned  a  dandy,  if, 
like  the  mother  of  Hood's  lost  heir,  he  only  took  time 
to  show  it  the  comb.  A  description  of  the  mother 
and  of  the  six  half-naked  offspring  is,  by  the  above 
picture  of  the  man,  I  think,  the  work  of  supererogation. 
On  my  way  to  the  tavern  I  called,  on  invitation,  to  take 
tea  with  the  Methodist  minister,  who  informed  me 
after  supper  that  the  individual  whom  I  visited  was 
known  in  the  neighborhood  as  a  murderer,  and  it  would 
be  unsafe  to  preempt  land  in  his  locality.  This  testi- 
mony was  corroborated  by  others,  and  settled  the  ques- 
tion of  changing  the  field  of  prospecting.  In  the 
course  of  the  evening  a  Mr.  McClennan,  a  Scotch  farm- 
er, arrived  to  stay  for  the  night.  He  was  on  his  way 
to  Peoria  with  wheat ;  should  be  back  here  on  the  mor- 


OF   DAVID   JOHNSTON.  181 

row,  and  proposed  to  carry  me  to  Elmira,  a  land  of 
milk  and  honey.  We  rode  through  a  rich,  promising 
country  twenty  miles,  and  I  had  a  real  Highland  wel- 
come in  the  bosom  of  his  family,  and  on  the  following 
morning  was  introduced  to  John  Turnbull,  who,  at  the 
moment  of  our  approach,  was  in  the  act  of  laying  the 
first  brick  of  a  new  dwelling.  The  mechanic  who  con- 
tracted to  build  this  house  was  a  Mr.  O'Grady,  a  good 
bricklayer  from  New  York  and  London.  John  gave 
me  a  hearty  welcome  and  expressed  a  wish  that  I 
should  stay  with  them  till  the  house  was  finished.  I 
told  him  that  my  family  was  still  in  London,  that  until 
navigation  opened  in  the  spring  I  should  be  locked  up 
in  the  west,  and  should  be  happy,  on  conditions,  to 
accept  of  his  hospitality. 

"What  are  the  conditions?" 

"That  you  will  give  me  something  to  do,"  which 
met  with  nothing  but  pooh-poohing  till  I  pulled  out  my 
bricklayer's  trowel,  and  then  they  saw  that  I  was  in 
earnest,  and  allowed  me  to  build  the  inner  walls  and  help 
Grady,  who  had  dropped  the  prefix  of  his  name,  on  the 
inner  part  of  the  outer  walls.  I  was  also  enabled  to  be 
useful  on  the  roof  and  in  glazing  eleven  windows,  and 
in  putting  on  several  coats  of  paint,  so  that  in  conse- 
quence of  my  little  help  the  family  was  enabled  to  get 
safely  housed  in  the  new  mansion  before  the  keen  winds 
of  the  severe  winter  of  1848-9  set  in,  for  which  they 
expressed  cordial  thanks.  Grady,  in  receiving  his  pay 
in  gold,  threw  down  two  ten  dollar  pieces,  which  he, 
with  John's  help,  insisted  on  my  accepting  for  my 
labor.  He  also  said  that  if  I  should  settle  there  and 
would  help  him  build  the  new  school-house,  for  which 


182  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

he  had  already  contracted,  he  would  build  a  house  for 
my  family  similar  to  the  one  he  had  just  finished  for 
Mr.  Turnbull  and  charge  me  nothing,  which  led  me  to 
think  that  my  services  were  overestimated.  Be  that  as 
it  may,  the  partiality  shown  on  the  part  of  the  individ- 
uals named  seemed  to  pervade  the  community  at  large, 
for  scarcely  had  the  paint  on  the  door-panels  dried  be- 
fore the  three  school  commissioners  called  on  me  and 
expressed  a  wish  for  me  to  keep  school  in  the  district 
for  the  ensuing  five  months  at  the  tempting  salary  of 
twelve  dollars  per  month.  Seeing  that  I  was  at  all 
events  fixed  for  the  winter,  what  better  amusement 
during  its  long,  dreary  days  and  evenings  than  keeping 
school?  So  I  rode  on  horseback  to  La  Fayette,  nine 
miles,  to  the  superintendent,  to  pass  examination  and 
obtain  my  certificate.  I  passed  this  ordeal  evidently 
more  to  his  satisfaction  than  to  my  own,  for  he  offered 
me  an  advance  of  three  dollars  a  month  to  induce  me 
to  teach  in  his  own  district.  I  thanked  him  and  ex- 
cused myself  on  the  score  of  the  friendship  existing 
with  the  people  of  Elmira.  On  my  way  back  I  was 
overtaken  by  a  blinding  snow-storm,  and  was  glad  (not 
altogether  free  from  a  sense  of  danger)  to  take  shelter 
in  the  first  cabin  that  fell  in  my  path.  Pleased  was  I 
to  find  myself  snugly  ensconced  in  the  comfortable 
dwelling  of  the  venerable  Mr.  Oliver,  Mrs.  Turnbull's 
father,  who  entreated  me  to  stay  until  the  storm  sub- 
sided, which  took  three  days.  Forty  members  of  Young 
America,  male  and  female,  assembled  in  the  old  log 
school-house  to  be  taught  the  common  school  rudiments 
by  one  who  stood  as  much  in  need  of  instruction  as  any 
of  his  charge,  but  other  duties  of  equal  importance,  to 


OF    DAVID   JOHNSTON.  183 

say  the  least,  pressed  themselves  upon  me.  With  the 
girls  I  had  no  trouble,  but  several  of  the  more  advanced 
boys  were  difficult  to  manage.  Among  the  objection- 
able habits  of  the  boys,  that  of  chewing  tobacco  I  was 
determined  to  break,  at  least  when  practiced  in  school 
hours.  Such,  indeed,  was  the  character  of  one  young 
man,  who  shall  here  be  nameless,  that  the  neighbors 
were  unanimous  in  their  desire  to  keep  him  away 
from  the  school  altogether,  but  I  am  happy  to  say  their 
arguments  were  unavailing.  I  learned  that  his  brutally 
ignorant  father  was  credited  with  the  cause  of  the 
very  faults  he  essayed  to  cure  by  beating  the  boy 
with  a  heavy  stick,  and  on  one  occasion  nearly  killing 
him  with  a  rail.  Resolved  to  test  the  law  of  kindness 
in  such  a  case  I  tried  to  reach  him  in  a  variety  of 
strategic  manceuvers,  but  utterly  failed,  and  I  confess 
to  having  been  painfully  disheartened  one  day  when  he 
in  wanton  cruelty  rammed  a  pin  into  the  fleshy  part  of 
a  girl's  arm.  This  crime  was  too  bad  to  be  passed  unno- 
ticed, and  I  requested  him  to  remain  after  the  school 
was  dismissed.  I  then  informed  him  that  I  had  searched 
the  locality  in  vain  to  find  one  citizen,  male  or  female, 
to  speak  well  of  him,  all  having  declared  that  he  was 
incorrigible,  and  that  providence  had  sent  him  a  friend. 
I  had  also  endeavored  to  find  a  cause  for  his  wanton 
brutality;  I  said  that  he  had  been  charged  with  an  at- 
tempt to  stab  my  predecessor ;  that  his  father  had  taken 
the  wrong  means  in  chastising  him  in  a  brutal  manner; 
that  on  one  occasion  he  had  knocked  him  down  with  a 
rail — the  effect  of  all  which  had  hardened  his  nature  and 
made  him  a  second  Ishmael,  but  that,  in  opposition,  to 
the  whole  neighborhood,  I  should  proffer  him  my  kind- 


184  AUTOBIOGKAPH1CAL   REMINISCENCES 

ness,  and  he  might  rely  upon  me  to  be  his  friend  for- 
ever. He  burst  into  tears,  and  from  that  moment  be- 
came an  exemplary  youth. 

I  had  the  satisfaction  at  a  subsequent  period  of 
meeting  this  person  at  the  Illinois  fair  at  Chicago,  a 
prosperous  farmer  and  father  of  a  family.  In  1872  I 
visited  Elmira.  I  found  he  had  departed  this  life. 

At  the  close  of  my  term,  and  on  the  receipt  of  $60 
for  my  five  months'  work,  I  turned  my  steps  to  New 
York,  there  to  meet  all  that  were  dear  to  me  on  earth. 
Mr.  Turnbull  drove  me  to  Chillicothe,  on  the  Illinois 
river.  The  California  fever  was  then  at  its  zenith,  and 
it  was  certainly  a  strange  sight  to  see  so  many  covered 
wagons  laden  with  human  beings,  many  of  whom  had 
sold  their  farms  and  broken  up  their  homes  to  traverse 
that  horrid  wilderness  in  their  eager  thirst  for  gold. 
On  our  way  we  called  on  the  genial  borderer,  Mr. 
Davidson,  the  veritable  Dandy  Dinmont  of  Sir  Walter 
Scott. 

On  the  5th  of  April,  1849,  I  bade  good-by  to  the 
kind-hearted,  hospitable  John  Turnbull,  who  returned 
to  spend  the  night  with  Davidson,  and  I  to  embark 
on  board  the  Revolution  steamer  for  St.  Louis,  thence 
to  Pittsburgh  on  the  steamer  Consignee,  thence  up  the 
Monongahela  river  to  Brownsville,  thence  by  coach 
to  Cumberland,  thence  by  rail  down  through  Harper's 
Ferry  and  the  valley  of  the  classical  Potomac  to  Balti- 
more, thence  to  Philadelphia  and  New  York,  where 
I  remained  long  enough  to  witness  one  of  the  most 
disgraceful  scenes  that  could  be  perpetrated  by  a 
community  calling  itself  civilized.  The  celebrated  tra- 
gedian, Mr.  Macready,  was  closing  up  his  farewell  tour 


OF   DAVID   JOHNSTON.  185 

in  America,  and  was  announced  to  play  in  the  Astor 
House  for  two  nights,  when  a  malicious  opposition  was 
got  up  on  the  part  of  the  roughs,  instigated,  it  was 
said,  by  his  American  rival,  Forrest,  but  certainly 
fanned  into  flame  by  a  worthless  wretch  of  the  cogno- 
men of  Ben  Buntling.  This  creature  harangued  the 
ruffians  into  fury  by  a  species  of  slang  in  the  public 
park  unmolested  by  the  authorities,  the  burden  of  their 
idiotic  song  being  "  codfish  aristocracy."  The  conduct 
of  part  of  the  audience  on  the  first  night  was  so  rude  as 
to  induce  Macready  to  decline  playing  on  the  follow- 
ing evening.  The  drowsy  authorities  then  half  awoke 
to  a  sense  of  their  danger.  "  What !  "  said  they,  "  shall 
the  great  city  of  New  York  be  given  up  to  the  govern- 
ance of  a  rabble?"  The  elite  of  old  Manhattan, 
headed  by  poets,  editors  and  eminent  literary  charac- 
ters, with  which  the  island  abounds,  waited  on  the  his- 
trionic chief  and  earnestly  besought  him  to  fulfill 
his  engagement.  Yielding  to  their  importunities  he 
essayed  to  play  on  the  second  evening.  The  mob 
returned  in  tenfold  fury  and  numbers,  tore  down  the 
iron  railings,  burst  open  the  doors,  and  would  doubtless 
have  destroyed  the  opera  house  but  for  the  tardy 
mayor,  backed  by  the  military,  appearing  on  the  das- 
tardly scene.  The  riot  act  was  read,  unheeded  by  the 
fools,  nor  did  they  disperse  until  thirty-three  of  their 
number  bit  the  dust  in  mortal  agony.  For  the  part 
Ben  played  in  this  wholesale  murder  he  was  sent  to 
Sing  Sing  prison  for  two  years. 

Advised  by  letter  that  my  family  had  embarked  at 
London  on  board  of  the  bark  Earl  Durham,  I  took  up 
my  abode  on  Staten  Island  to  await  their  arrival.  In  a 


180  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

little  more  than  a  month,  after  a  passage  of  seven 
weeks  and  three  days,  in  a  dense  fog,  the  Durham 
safely  anchored  in  the  harbor.  Counting  heads,  I 
missed  one  of  our  progeny.  "  Where  is  Emma?  Is 
she  hiding?"  "Emma  is  still  in  England  with  Aunt 
Parker,"  my  wife  said,  explaining  the  reason  for  leav- 
ing her  behind. 

Seated  in  council  at  Rucastle's  hotel  in  reference 
to  our  future  course,  my  wife  requested  the  assistance 
of  a  man  of  the  name  of  Steers,  who  came  out  in  the 
same  ship  with  the  family,  and,  strange  to  say,  who 
had  rendered  himself  sufficiently  obnoxious  on  the 
passage  by  his  hauteur.  But  the  influence  of  money 
is  potent,  and  he  brought  £7,000  with  him  and 
several  votes,  so  he  was  invited  to  participate 
in  the  councils  which  were  destined  to  govern  our 
future  steps  in  securing  a  living  for  ten  in  family.  In 
their  best  room  the  two  families  convened  to  legislate 
for  the  future  course  of  one  of  said  families.  The  ipsi 
dixit  of  the  moneyed  man  was  parliament  enough  for 
the  occasion.  The  discussion  resolved  itself  into  town 
versus  country  for  the  pivot  of  our  action  in  the  future. 
One  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  fine  land  in  the  midst  of 
a  civilized  community,  with  other  advantages,  together 
with  my  ten  months'  American  experience,  were  all 
held  at  naught  by  this  worshiper  of  the  God  of  Mam- 
mon and  his  satellites.  Indeed,  I  had  the  mortifica- 
tion of  standing  alone  in  a  proposition  on  which  unmis- 
takably hung  the  welfare  of  our  family.  The  evil  con- 
sequences of  this  decision  are  ever  present  with  me, 
and  will  avaunt  only  at  my  grave.  Had  it  been  accom- 
plished by  dint  of  intelligent  argument  the  reflection 


OF   DAVID   JOHNSTON.  187 

might  have  been  partially  relieved  of  its  bitterness, 
and  I  might  have  been  reconciled  to  the  loss  of  the 
tangible  advantages  of  my  ten  months'  pioneering,  but 
to  think  of  being  stultified  by  pompous  ignorance  is  too 
much,  and  that,  too,  displayed  on  the  part  of  a  man  to 
those  placed  under  his  charge.  But  think  of  seven  thou- 
sand pounds,  all  in  hard  cash,  pitted  against  something 
short  of  one  hundred.  This  man  settled  in  Marquette 
county,  Wis.,  lent  out  his  cash  to  needy  neighbors,  and 
died  with  a  universal  reputation  of  having  been  a  man 
of  very  sharp  practice  in  his  dealings  with  those  under 
his  thumb. 

This  vote,  having  the  effect  of  casting  aside  all  my 
pioneering  efforts,  and  that  by  my  own  consent,  has 
left  an  impression  on  my  mind  which  I  have  hitherto 
failed  to  remove,  and  which,  I  suppose,  will  there  stick 
till  the  last  hour.  In  this  debate  which  resolved  itself 
into  town  versus  country,  of  course,  town  carried  the 
vote,  and  to  town  we  sailed.  Arrived  at  Milwaukee.  I 
rigged  up  a  small  school-room  and  commenced  teach- 
ing Young  America.  My  school  increased  till  I  was 
earning  at  the  rate  of  $600  per  annum,  when  Dr. 
James  Johnson  called  to  give  me  a  chance  to  take 
charge  of  the  first  ward  public  school,  assuring  me 
that  the  board  of  commissioners,  of  which  he  was  a 
member,  intended  to  increase  the  salary  of  the  teachers 
on  the  following  year.  My  objection  that  to  give  up  six 
for  four  would  be  anything  but  prudent  was  met  by  say- 
ing the  people  were  determined  to  support  the  public 
schools,  and  with  that  view  a  new  brick  schoolhouse  in 
each  of  the  five  wards  of  the  city  was  now  in  process  of 
erection,  "  and  in  unison  with  such  sentiments  I  must 


188  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

take  my  three  sons  from  your  select  and  place  them  in 
the  public  school,  and  I  am  authorized  to  say  the  same 
in  regard  to  the  three  sons  of  John  Furlong,  an  eminent 
merchant."  These  being  prominent  men  in  the  city, 
and  being  myself  much  attached  to  the  American 
system  of  common  schools,  I  was  forthwith  installed  as 
principal  of  the  first  ward  school.  My  labors  com- 
menced in  my  new  avocation  in  an  old  wooden  church 
building,  which  in  the  dead  of  winter  took  fire  at  the 
shingle  roof  and  was  totally  destroyed.  This  accident 
threw  us  prematurely  into  the  unfinished  brick  building 
on  Division  street,  in  the  basement  of  which  business 
went  on  pretty  smoothly  during  the  cold  weather;  but 
when  the  spring  of  1851  set  in  the  g'round  was  over- 
loaded with  snow,  and  a  sudden  change  in  the  temper- 
ature, with  rain,  was  the  means  of  causing  a  street 
flood,  and  on  opening  the  door  one  morning  I  found 
all  the  school  furniture  afloat.  Thus,  between  fire  and 
water,  our  experience  the  first  year  was  rather  rough. 
However,  the  building  was  hastened  to  a  finish,  and 
soon  we  were  in  comfortable  quarters.  The  fiscal  year 
terminated  satisfactorily  to  all  but  the  teachers,  who, 
instead  of  being  paid  in  cash,  were  paid  in  county  scrip 
at  a  discount  of  twenty  per  cent,  a  remuneration  which, 
with  all  our  frugality,  we  found  inadequate  to  support 
a  family  of  ten  persons,  for  we  had  added  one  to  our 
number  in  the  shape  of  an  ingrate. 

William  McGarry  had  grown  up  in  my  service  at 
Peckham,  and  when  the  day  arrived  that  we  must  part  his 
love  for  us  waxed  so  strong  that  he  would  travel  the 
world  over  with  and  for  us,  and  if  Mrs.  J.  would  only  ad- 
vance the  wherewithal  to  get  him  across  the  Atlantic, 


OF   DAVID   JOHNSTON.  189 

being  young  and  strong  and  willing  to  work,  he  would 
repay  every  farthing,  with  interest.  I  transmitted  my 
consent,  and  he  was  added  to  our  responsibilities.  Mr. 
Alonzo  Seaman  took  a  lively  interest  in  our  struggles, 
and  sold  me  a  lot  on  time,  whereon  to  place  my 
school-room,  and  by  reconstruction  and  addition  con- 
vert it  into  a  dwelling.  Mr.  George  E.  Harper  Day 
(a  relative  of  the  Harpers  of  New  York)  became  a 
warm  friend,  who,  in  his  capacity  of  commissioner  of 
schools,  had  favorably  noticed  our  second  daughter, 
Margaret,  who  was  indeed  somewhat  precocious  and 
evinced  all  the  attributes  of  a  natural  teacher.  This 
practical  teacher's  friend  one  day  very  agreeably 
astonished  me  by  the  gratifying  intelligence  that 'he 
had  been  daily  watching  Maggie's  usefulness  in  the 
management  of  the  class  assigned  to  her,  and  that  such 
talent  and  assiduity  should  not  go  unrequited.  His 
next  visit  brought  the  welcome  tidings  that  the  board 
had  placed  her  on  the  list  of  teachers  with  a  salary 
of  $200  per  annum,  and  dated  her  pay  back  six 
months ;  this  before  she  had  attained  her  fifteenth 
year.  Her  elder  sister,  Mary  Ann,  proved  the  domes- 
tic right  hand  of  her  Another  in  the  management  of 
the  happy  family.  The  board  also  kept  faith  with 
the  dominies  by  augmenting  their  salary  to  the  tune 
of  $50  for  the  ensuing  year ;  this  in  the  face  of  an 
enhanced  price  on  fuel  and  many  of  the  leading  arti- 
cles of  family  consumption.  To  make  ends  meet 
proved  as  difficult  as  on  the  previous  twelve  months 
notwithstanding  another  advance  of  $50  for  the  third 
year,  and  relieved  of  the  affectionate  McGarry,  who 
went  on  a  farm  at  Summit,  leaving  his  note  for  his 


190  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL    REMINISCENCES 

indebtedness  to  me  as  a  kind  of  souvenir,  I  suppose, 
for  never  did  I  catch  a  glimpse  of  his  handsome 
Irish  face  again.  Mr.  Henry  Hull  became  a  constant 
visitor  at  our  little  cottage,  and  no  member  of  our 
little  coterie  was  blind  enough  not  to  perceive  that  the 
bewitching  eye  of  Maggie  proved  the  vulnerable  point 
of  our  family  stronghold.  At  the  close  of  the  third 
year  I  determined  to  try  other  means  by  which  to  live. 
I  had  in  my  leisure  hours  looked  a  little  into  the  mys- 
teries of  photography,  and  in  the  autumn  of  1853 
embarked  in  that  business  in  East  Water  street,  Mil- 
waukee, and  at  the  end  of  the  year  I  found  my  indebt- 
edness increased.  In  the  spring  of  1854  I  opened  a 
gallery  in  Waukesha,  with  no  improvement  in  success. 
This  year  was  eventful.  While  the  great  comet  shone 
brightly  in  its  eccentric  course  through  the  firmament 
the  star  of  England  was  burnished  by  the  great  battle 
of  Inkerman  on  the  5th  of  November,  and  the  general 
aspect  of  the  war  in  the  Crimea.  Henry  Hull  and 
Margaret  were  made  one  by  Rev.  Mr.  Holmes  in  matri- 
mony, while  the  Asiatic  cholera  raged  in  the  village 
with  fatal  effects.  In  1855,  at  the  request  of  the 
village  authorities,  I  kept  one  of  their  schools,  return- 
ing to  the  camera  September  8,  1855  (the  day  Sebas- 
topol  fell).  In  1856  I  satisfied  my  Milwaukee  creditors 
by  authorizing  H.  Hull  to  dispose  of  my  hard-earned 
home.  The^  balance  came  in  the  shape  of  forty  acijes 
of  swamp  school  lands,  which  I  parted  with  as  an 
equivalent  for  instruction  in  the  new  method  of  mak- 
ing pictures  on  glass,  patented  by  Cutting,  of  Boston, 
which  patent  was  proved  afterward  to  be  worthless, 
from  his  havine  borrowed  or  stolen  the  formula  from 


OF   DAVID   JOHNSTON.  191 

another  person  in  his  employ,  and  from  its  having  been 
in  use  in  London  for  a  year  prior  to  his  burdening  the 
shelves  of  the  Patent  Office  at  Washington  with  his 
trash. 

Up  to  this  period  I  had  been  proof  against  the  ma- 
larial diseases  peculiar  to  a  new  country,  and  had  the 
presumption  to  attribute  this  exemption  to  my  many 
years'  practice  of  teetotalism.  Dearly  did  I  pay  for  this 
self-righteous  folly.  Three  long  years  did  I  suffer  from 
this  dire  disease,  twice  a  day  shaking  like  an  aspen  leaf. 
My  photographic  instructions  were  given  in  Milwaukee, 
and  I  sojourned  with  my  daughter,  who,  with  her 
husband,  were  bigoted  homceopathists,  and  I  became 
utterly  helpless  on  their  hands,  daily  craving,  in  vain, 
of  their  favorite  Esculapius  to  relieve  my  constipation, 
with  which  I  had  been  afflicted  for  fourteen  days.  Mr. 
Willard  Haskins,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  the  pro- 
longation of  my  life,  appeared  at  my  bedside  one  day 
and  desired  me  to  go  home  to  Waukesha  with  him.  I 
showed  him  my  helpless  condition,  and  he  clothed  me 
and  carried  me  down  stairs,  took  me  in  a  carriage  to 
the  depot,  thence  by  rail  to  Waukesha,  and  there  at 
home  for  several  weeks  he  nursed  me  to  health.  I  was 
then  about  fifty-three  years  of  age,  and  now  I  am 
eighty-three,  and  I  must  say  in  common  honesty  I  have 
never  failed  to  tak  aff  ma  dram  frae  that  dreary  day  tae 
this. 

In  my  convalescence  I  had  the  honor  to  recite  the 
poem  of  Tarn  O'  Shanter  at  the  centennial  of  Burns' 
birthday  at  the  Newhall  House,  Milwaukee,  on  the  25th 
January,  1859  (^ne  day  on  which  the  local  St.  Andrew's 
Society  was  formed).  Also  at  Madison  and  at  the  Epis- 


192  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL    REMINISCENCES 

copal  mission,  Nashota,  I  gave  three  Scotch  entertain- 
ments, and  elsewhere  gave  evenings  with  the  poets. 
Leaving  Waukesha  we  again  took  up  our  abode  in  Mil- 
waukee, and  there  our  eldest  born,  Mary  Ann,  was  united 
in  marriage  by  Rev.  Mr.  Love  to  W.  H.  Williams.  The 
slave  power  about  this  time  assumed  an  encroaching 
attitude.  The  unanswerable  arguments .  of  Sumner 
against  that  villainous  power  in  his  place  as  a  represent- 
ative of  the  people  were  met  by  the  bludgeon  or  heavy 
cane  of  a  consistent  exponent  of  the  then  peculiar 
institution.  And  it  was  worthy  of  remark  that  for  such 
striking  arguments  and  such  signal  service  the  perpe- 
trator was  presented  by  certain  women  with  a  golden- 
headed  cane.  It  became  a  matter  of  great  solicitude 
with  the  American  people  as  to  who  should  be 
nominated  for  president  for  the  ensuing  term  of  four 
years,  and  the  anti-slavery  portion,  with  whom  I  ranked, 
was  not  a  little  disappointed  in  the  nomination  of 
Abraham  Lincoln.  The  choice  of  the  party  seemed  to 
fall  on  W.  H.  Seward,  but  the  judgment  of  Horace 
Greeley  ran  counter  thereto,  and  proposed  the  more 
suitable  man  for  the  crisis.  Impatient  of  control,  the 
pro-slavery  element,  accustomed  to  rule,  acted  as  if 
they  would  rather  rule  in  hell  than  serve  in  heaven. 
Such,  indeed,  was  their  infatuation  and  traitorous 
ambition  that  nothing  short  of  civil  war  could 
satiate.  Early  in  1860  I  went  ahead  of  my  family 
to  Chicago,  where  we  lived  twenty  -  three  years 
and  experienced  many  vicissitudes.  I  have  had  the 
satisfaction  of  seeing  all  my  daughters  married  and 
happy.  The  shading  of  the  domestic  picture  is  to  be 
found  in  the  dealings  of  death.  The  first  sad  blow  of 


OF  DAVID   JOHNSTOX.  193 

that  dread  messenger  fell  on  my  only  surviving  son, 
John  Washington,  27^  years  of  age,  in  whose  death, 
from  hemorrhage  of  the  lungs,  I  not  only  lost  a  dear  son, 
but  in  confidence  a  friend.  Of  the  cause  of  his  death  I 
have  something  to  say  hereafter.  Next  of  the  family  to 
pass  away,  after  two  painful  operations  for  cancer,  was 
poor  Margaret,  who  bore  her  dreadful  sufferings  with 
remarkable  fortitude,  and  died  on  the  25th  of  January, 
1864,  leaving  two  children,  Alice  and  David.  James 
Kavanaugh,  too,  was  stricken  down  in  his  manly,  robust 
youth,  leaving  two  children,  Jeanie  and  Marion,  to  be 
supported  and  brought  into  society  by  dint  of  the 
easel  of  their  talented  mother  in  Milwaukee.  The 
Williams  branch,  also,  was  destined  to  taste  of  the 
scathing  visitations  of  the  destroying  angel.  Two  fine 
children  were  snatched  from  their  embrace  at  Fox 
Lake,  and  George,  their  only  son,  a  most  promising, 
bright  boy,  was  taken  from  us  at  Milwaukee.  Two 
noble  girls,  Hattie  and  May,  survive  to  bless  and 
comfort  their  sorrowing  parents.  Annie  and  her  two 
daughters,  Daisy  and  Mabel,  both  recently  married,  are 
happy. 

We  left  the  Badger  State  in  1860,  and  found  the 
court  house  yard  of  Chicago  occupied  with  all  the 
habiliments  of  war  in  the  dire  expectation  of  the  dogs 
being  let  loose.  Nor  had  they  long  to  wait.  Too 
soon,  to  the  eternal  disgrace  of  Beauregard,  the  suicidal 
sounds  of  Fort  Sumter  were  borne  upon  the  breeze. 
My  early  efforts  in  Chicago  were  attended  with  success, 
and  in  1864  I  joined  the  St.  Andrew's  Society.  My 
business  at  that  time  carried  me  among  the  machine 
shops,  in  which  many  Scotchmen  were  employed,  who 
13 


194  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES. 

nearly  to  a  man  were  ready  to  argue  against  the  pro- 
priety of  becoming  members  thereof,  on  the  ground 
chiefly  of  exclusiveness.  Five  dollars  for  the  annual 
dinner  was  too  steep  for  a  workingman,  the  objector 
supposing  that  the  whole  of  that  sum  was  expended  in 
the  dinner.  Hence  the  idea  of  forming  a  Caledonian 
Club  in  1865.  The  club  was  formed,  Robert  Harvey, 
Esq.,  chief. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


I  charge  thee,  fling  away  ambition: 

By  that  sin  fell  the  angels,  how  can  man  then, 

The  image  of  his  Maker,  hope  to  win  by't  ? 

Love  thyself  last;  cherish  those  hearts  that  hate  thee: 

Corruption  wins  not  more  than  honesty. 

Still  in  thy  right  hand  carry  gentle  peace, 

To  silence  envious  tongues. 

THE  blood  and  treasure  poured  out  so  freely  in 
the  suppression  of  the  rebellion  were  by  no 
means  offered  up  on  the  shrine  of  freedom.  Notwith- 
standing Abraham  Lincoln  had  expressed  himself  in 
controversy  to  the  effect  that  a  nation  half  free  and 
half  slave  could  not  long  exist,  he  felt  constrained 
under  the  constitution  to  swear  that  under  his  rule  he 
should  do  his  best  to  keep  it  so.  The  removal  of  that 
foul  blot,  which  had  so  long  disgraced  our  otherwise 
fair  escutcheon,  we  owe  to  the  exigencies  of  war:  show- 
ing that  terrible  as  war  is,  it  is  not  the  worst  of  evils 
that  afflict  our  erring  race.  The  cost  of  that  dreadful 
ordeal  is  most  abundantly  compensated  by  making 
this  nation  what  it  is.  Never  till  I  die  can  I  cease  to 
remember  the  intoxicating  news  of  the  fall  of  Rich- 
mond in  Chicago.  But  oh !  how  fleet  the  overjoy  ! 
The  bells  had  hardly  ceased  to  vibrate  on  that  national 
jubilation  ,when  lo  !  the  wires  proclaimed  the  foul  mur- 
der of  the  idol  of  a  joyous  people — Abraham  Lincoln 
—at  the  hands  of  a  daft  theatrical,  who  shall  here  be 
nameless,  stimulated  by  the  blind  enemies  of  "  freedom  " 
behind.  The  manner  of  the  taking-off  of  that  great, 
good  man  needs  not  any  comment  here.  It  is  patent 

195 


196  AUTOBIOGKAPHICAL    REMINISCEXCES 

to  the  world,  and  lamented  by  every  well-regulated 
mind  the  world  contains.  The  perpetrator  of  this  deed 
of  darkness  evaded  justice  for  about  fourteen  dreadful 
days,  to  be  hunted  and  shot  down  like  a  wild  beast. 
Where  his  body  lies  is  known  to  very  few.  The  incip- 
ient elements  of  this  rebellion  were  characterized  by  a 
species  of  craft,  or  what  may  be  termed  low  cunning, 
which  reflects  anything  but  credit  to  the  prominent 
movers  of  the  lost  cause.  For  instance,  take  the  con- 
duct of  Floyd.  That  gentleman  occupied  the  office  of 
secretary  of  war  under  James  Buchanan — an  office 
fraught  with  the  utmost  importance.  In  the  hands  of 
conservative  patriotism  a  bulwark;  in  the  hands  of  a 
traitor,  dreadfully  dangerous. 

The  part  Floyd  played  in  treacherous  lust, 

Betraying  of  a  nation's  trust, ' 

While  those  in  high  power  were  sleeping — 

The  potent  means  in  his  keeping 

Were  ceded  to  the  nation's  foes, 

That  deadlier  might  fall  their  blows 

Against  our  government  and  laws, 

While  they  exult  in  fiend's  applause, 

In  hopes  that  on  the  nation's  ruin 

To  build  an  odious  despotism. 

We  have  reason,  I  think,  to  thank  heaven  it  was 
otherwise  ruled.  It  was  during  the  civil  war  that  we 
had  the  misfortune  to  lose  our  only  son — John  Wash- 
ington. I  may  here  remark  that  that  portion  of  his 
time  which  ought  to  have  been  devoted  to  out-door 
recreation  while  running  his  photographic  gallery  was 
spent  in  the  cultivation  of  the  arts  of  drawing  and 
painting,  which  told  on  his  lungs.  In  pursuit  of  art  he 
went  to  New  York,  thence  to  Montreal,  and  improved 
in  health  greatly,  and  was  on  the  eve  of  marriage  with 


OF    DAVID    JOHNSTOX.  197 

a  Miss  Fraser  in  that  city  when  we  received  the  unwel- 
come news  that  he  was  prostrate  from  hemorrhage  of 
the  lungs,  with  fears  that  a  second  attack  might  prove 
fatal.  No  time  must  be  lost  in  getting  him  home. 
His  brother-in-law,  John  Balfour,  to  whom  he  was 
much  attached,  volunteered  his  services  to  repair  to 
Canada  and  fetch  the  poor  fellow  home  to  die,  which, 
with  much  care  and  delicacy,  he  performed  to  the  sat- 
isfaction of  all  the  members  of  the  family.  But  it 
required  only  a  few  short  months  to  finish  the  progress 
of  the  dire  disease  on  his  poor,  emaciated  frame.  His 
remains  were  interred  in  Rosehill  cemetery,  nor  had 
they  long  to  lie  alone,  for  in  about  three  years  the 
second  grave  in  our  little  lot  had  to  open  to  receive 
his  sister  Margaret.  Maggie  suffered  much  agony  with 
great  patience,  and  rallied  sufficiently  after  her  first 
operation  to  enable  her  to  participate  in  a  New  Year's 
family  gathering,  whereat  there  were  twenty  members 
sitting  down  to  dinner.  All  present  entertained  lively 
hopes  of  her  recovery,  but  in  a  few  days  the  viru- 
lent monster  showed  symptoms  of  having  been  only 
"scotched,  not  killed." 

The  loss  of  the  Lady  Elgin,  January  18,  and  the 
great  fire  of  Chicago  merit  a  passing  notice  here ;  the 
former  in  1860,  the  latter  in  1871. 

THE   LADY   ELGIN   DISASTER. 

States  and  nations  in  their  endeavors  to  dispense 
with  large  standing  armies  find  it  necessary  to  use 
means  by  which  to  strengthen  the  volunteer  arm. 

Military  companies  deemed  reliable  are  furnished 
with  arms,  accoutrements  and  halls  wherein  to  drill,  etc., 
at  the  public  expense.  In  seasons  of  political  excite- 


198  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL    REMINISCENCES 

ment,  however,  when  partisanship  runs  high  and  mani- 
festations of  disloyalty  ooze  out,  or,  in  other  words, 
whensoever  the  attitude  of  a  company  shall  become 
dubious  as  to  how  these  arms  shall  be  pro  or  con  directed 
in  case  of  a  popular  outbreak  against  the  public  peace, 
it  becomes  the  duty  of  the  governor  of  the  state  to 
cite  the  officer  in  command  to  the  seat  of  government, 
and  there  subject  him  to  a  personal  interrogatory,  and 
on  being  found  unreliable  deprive  his  company  of  all 
their  arms  and  military  privileges  whatsoever. 

The  party  inimical  to  the  election  of  Abraham 
Lincoln  in  1860  was  pretty  outspoken,  and  the  patriot- 
ism of  not  a  few  in  Milwaukee  fell  under  the  suspicion 
of  the  state  authorities.  One  of  the  suspects  was  Cap- 
tain Barry,  who  was  summoned  to  Madison  to  explain 
his  position,  or  rather  his  sentiments,  and,  as  far  as  he 
knew,  or  was  willing  to  expose,  those  of  the  company 
under  his  command.  The  result  of  this  inquiry  proved 
adverse  to  the  company,  and  disarmament  was  the  re- 
sult. But  the  boys,  being  spirited,  and  smarting  under 
the  frown  of  the  state,  resolved  to  keep  up  their  organ- 
ization by  procuring  guns  of  their  own,  and  to  raise 
the  necessary  means  resolved  on  chartering  the  Lady 
Elgin  to  Chicago  and  back  to  Milwaukee,  which,  being 
accomplished,  a  very  numerous  party  (about  400),  pro- 
vided with  fine  music,  awaited  the  arrival  of  the 
steamer  on  the  wharf  at  Milwaukee  for  some  hours, 
notwithstanding  the  weather  was  rather  rough.  The 
passage  to  Chicago  was  spent  in  dancing  and  merry- 
making. On  the  early  morning  of  one  tempestuous 
day  the  Lady  Elgin,  with  her  precious  freight  of  gay, 
light-hearted  souls,  arrived,  and  as  the  hour  of  de- 


OF   DAVID    JOHNSTOX.  199 

parture  from  Chicago  was  fixed  for  1 1  p.m.  the  interim 
gave  ample  opportunity  of  doing  the  lions  of  Chicago, 
which  was  duly  done.  The  weather  in  the  meantime 
had  increased  in  violence,  and  Captain  Wilson,  of  the 
Elgin,  was  requested  to  delay  his  starting  until  morn- 
ing, but  having  cattle  on  board,  and  other  merchandise 
for  the  north,  he  could  not  comply  therewith.  And 
well  do  I  remember  on  retiring  to  bed  hearing  through 
the  howling  storm  of  that  fatal  night  the  sounds  of  the 
strains  of  that  music  which  was  destined  to  usher  them 
all,  or  nearly  all,  into  eternity !  And  such  was  the  hasty 
desire  to  resume  that  fascinating  pastime  (I  am  in- 
formed) that  the  steamer  had  scarcely  cleared  the  lights 
of  the  harbor  when  the  figurative  marriage  bell  was 
ne'er  so  gay  as  with  that  joyous  party,  bound  as  they 
were  by  ties  most  sacred — by  blood  relationship,  by 
intermarriage,  by  nationality,  by  political  proclivity, 
and  by  religious  faith.  A  more  genial  and  happy  com- 
pany it  were  difficult  to  conceive.  A  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  the  object  of  the  excursion  was  doubtless  con- 
fined to  the  few,  and  the  youthful  members,  having  con- 
fidence in  their  leader,  took  for  granted  that  to  pur- 
chase warlike  weapons  with  a  portion  of  their  surplus 
earnings  was  an  act  entitled  to  praise — at  least,  to  be 
above  censure.  Be  that  as  it  may,  I  have  no  doubt 
but  there  were  many  on  that  fatal  errand  who  never 
bestowed  a  thought  upon  the  purport  of  the  expedi- 
tion. It  is  safe  to  say  that  in  cases  of  this  kind  con- 
science is  a  light  ingredient.  There  were  a  few  pas- 
sengers on  their  way  north  who  secured  berths  on 
the  ill-fated  ship  in  Chicago,  thereby  adding  to  the 
doomed  number,  among  whom  were  Mr.  Ingram,  the 


200  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL    REMINISCENCES 

distinguished  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  Illustrated 
London  News,  and  his  son.  Notwithstanding  the 
night  was  dark  and  stormy,  so  bent  on  pleasure  were 
the  youthful  excursionists  that  the  lights  of  the  harbor 
had  scarcely  waned  when  dancing  was  resumed,  and  up 
to  the  fatal  moment  was  with  hilarity  kept  up. 

When  about  two  hours  out  of  Chicago,  and  abreast 
of  Winnetka,  the  mirth  and  music  of  over  four  hundred 
young  people  were  in  less  time  than  I  require  to  write 
it  turned  to  weeping  and  wailing.  A  lumber-laden 
schooner,  by  some  culpable  blunder  in  reading  the 
lights,  ran  straight  into  the  larboard  quarter  of  the 
steamer.  Oh !  the  horror  of  that  crash.  It  was  soon 
discovered  that  the  damage  sustained  was  such  as  to 
cut  off  all  hope  of  saving  the  ship,  or  even  of  saving 
a  soul  on  board.  Already  she  was  perceptibly  sinking, 
and  rapidly,  by  displacement  of  her  treacherous  support, 
forming  that  fearful  gulf  yawning  to  swallow  up  four 
hundred  happy  creatures  in  the  morning  of  their  lives. 
Comparatively  happy  those  that  with  the  sinking  ship 
went  down !  Most  of  those  who  clung  to  floating 
fragments  were  doomed  to  perish  in  the  angry  surf. 
Among  those  who  were  so  destroyed  was  Capt.  Wilson. 
He  had  improvised  a  raft  of  hatches,  whereon  he  suc- 
ceeded in  reaching  the  surf  with  fourteen  persons  cling- 
ing thereto,  but  such  was  the  violence  of  the  waves 
lining  the  shore  that  the  raft  no  sooner  touched  the 
land  than  it  went-to  pieces,  and  all  on  board  were 
drowned  or  killed  by  the  floating  debris  of  the  wreck. 

Wilson  was  one  of  the  most  experienced  and  careful 
captains  on  these  lakes.  A  number  of  warm,  admiring 
friends  survive  to  lament  his  loss.  It  appeared  by  the 


OF    DAVID   JOHNSTON-.  201 

hole  in  his  forehead  that  he  had  received  his  death 
wound  from  being  violently  thrown  against  some  float- 
ing part  of  the  wreck. 

Among  the  few  that  were  saved  may  be  mentioned 
the  bass-drummer  of  the  band,  who,  by  corking  up 
the  sound-hole  of  his  drum,  improvised  a  buoy,  on 
which  he  safely  drifted  ashore.  For  many  days  the 
bodies  of  the  unfortunates  were  deposited  for  identifi- 
cation around  the  court  house  of  Chicago,  and  during 
those  days  the  influx  of  the  bereaved  from  the  sister 
city  in  search  of  their  lost  dear  ones  made  the  scene 
sufficiently  heart-rending,  until  the  sanitary  safety  of 
the  city  demanded  a  change,  and  ever  afterward  all 
victims  found  of  the  ill-fated  steamer  were  deposited 
among  the  shrubbery  of  the  old  cemetery  (now  form- 
ing part  of  Lincoln  Park).  At  length  identification  be- 
came impossible,  which  to  anxious  searchers  was  most 
distressing.  The  remains  of  Mr.  Ingram  were  found, 
and  identified  by  his  gold  watch  and  other  personal 
property.  They  were  taken  to  the  Briggs  House,  and 
thence  by  countrymen,  members  of  the  St.  George's 
Society  of  Illinois,  to  the  railroad  depot,  on  their  way 
to  his  beloved  Nottingham.  Those  of  his  son,  I  believe, 
were  never  discovered. 

THE   GREAT   FIRE   OF   CHICAGO. 

On  Saturday,  the  8th  day  of  October,  1871,  there 
had  been  a  strong  breeze  blowing  all  day  from  Chicago's 
dangerous  quarter  (the  northwest),  when  a  fire  broke 
out  on  Canal  street,  near  to  Van  Buren  street,  which 
well-nigh  bade  defiance  to  the  efforts  of  one  of  the  most 
efficient  fire  departments  in  the  world.  Nor  could  the 


202  AUTOBIOGAPHICA.L   REMINISCENCES. 

firemen  for  one  moment  relax  their  noble  efforts  until 
the  morning  of  the  9th,  after  the  destruction  of  valuable 
property  covering  sixteen  acres  of  the  business  part  of 
the  city. 

To  the  exhausted  condition  of  the  firemen  on  the 
9th  has  been  mainly  attributed  the  fierce,  ungovernable 
hold  which  characterized  the  early  features  of  that 
dreadful  disaster,  which  claimed  for  its  ravages  through 
the  principal  streets  of  that  splendid  city  a  distance  of 
four  and  a  half  miles. 

For  an  accurate  description  of  this  calamity  the 
reader  is  referred  to  a  volume  written  by  Mr.  Good- 
speed,  embellished  copiously  and  graphically  by  wood 
engravings  of  excellent  quality. 

This  visitation  had  the  effect  of  provoking  the 
benevolent  sympathy  of  the  Christian  world  into  boiling 
heat. 

The  amount  of  money,  food  and  raiment  poured 
into  the  hands  of  the  relieving  committees  of  Chicago 
was  marvelous,  and  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  while  the 
fire  proved  the  ruin  of  many  an  honest,  struggling 
family  there  were  those  who,  by  barefaced,  unscrupulous 
means,  realized  positions  to  which  they  never  could 
attain  by  legitimate  effort.  Having  lost  in  the  fire  my 
inimitable  Voigtlander  viewing  tube  and  all  my  bread- 
winning  tools  and  chemicals,  in  the  way  of  assistance 
I  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  $135  from  the  bounty  of 
Scottish  societies  abroad  ;  $100  through  the  medium 
of  the  St.  Andrew's  Society  of  Illinois,  and  $35  through 
the  Caledonian  Club. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 


"  Each  year  to  ancient  friendship  adds 
A  ring  as  to  an  oak,  which,  without  the  aid  of  any  merit 
Of  our  own,  becomes  more  and  more  precious." 

IT  is  painful  to  record  the  downfall  of  the  grand  old 
Caledonian  Club  of  Chicago,  the  origin  of  which  in 
1865  may  here  be  dated,  for  although  we  stood  indebted 
to  General  Ducat  for  the  insurance  on  our  burnt  library 
.of  two  thousand  dollars,  this  amount,  added  to  the  bal- 
ance on  hand,  forming  a  handsome  sum,  and  being 
just  at  this  juncture  at  a  loss  to  find  suitable  ground 
whereon  to  hold  our  annual  picnic,  formed  the  double 
incentive  to  induce  the  club  to  venture  into  the  bewitch- 
ing yet  dangerous  arena  of  real  estate.  Hence  the  col- 
lapse of  one  of  the  most  healthy  and  promising  organi- 
zations that  ever  blessed  the  efforts  of  the  Scottish 
element  anywhere.  Alas!  for  the  instability  of  human 
affairs.  Should  the  reader  be  desirous  of  obtaining 
more  information  thereof  I  refer  him  to  William  Forrest, 
who  is  still  chief,  and  who  holds  the  charter  and  docu- 
ments of  the  club  in  his  possession,  with  a  hopeful 
pertinacity  that  reflects  credit  to  his  honest,  loving 
heart.  As  for  myself,  I  bless  God  for  the  memory 
which  enables  me  to  live  those  happy  days  over  again. 
While  Chicago  was,  phoenix-like,  rising  in  tenfold 
grandeur  out  of  her  own  ashes,  I  became  for  the  winter 

203 


204  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES. 

of  1871-2  a  book  peddler,  undertaking  to  supply  the 
citizens  of  St.  Louis,  or  such  as  would  buy  a  book  with 
a  copy  of  Goodspeed's  story  of  the  great  fire,  selling  to 
the  tune  of  one  volume  per  diem  during  the  winter, 
clearly  proving  that  as  a  book  canvasser  I  was  anything 
but  a  success.  On  my  return  to  Chicago  I  took  the 
route  of  the  Illinois  river,  which,  with  a  little  divergence, 
gave  me  a  chance  of  revisiting  the  scene  of  my  earliest 
American  experience  in  search  of  a  home.  I  found 
the  whole  community  in  a  very  thriving  condition ; 
my  quarter-section  not  only  well  cultivated,  but 
yielding  coal  for  the  market.  My  appearance,  like  that 
of  the  Rip  Van  Winkle  of  Irving,  had  assumed  in  the 
long  interim  an  aspect  which  placed  it  almost  beyond 
recognition.  Indeed,  the  unmarried  daughter  of  the 
Oliver  family  (Annie)  was  the  only  person  who  could 
salute  me  by  name.  Staying  a  few  days  with  John 
Turnbull,  and  paying  a  hasty  visit  to  the  neighbors 
around,  I  returned  by  Kewaunee  and  Elgin  to  Chicago, 
and  recommenced  viewing.  On  August  14,  1873,  it 
fell  to  my  lot,  as  chief  of  the  Chicago  Caledonian 
Club,  to  give  a  name  to  its  beautiful  grounds,  which 
were,  in  the  presence  of  a  large  and  brilliant  audience, 
denominated  Chicago  Caledonian  Park,  and  which  were 
intended  to  furnish  a  healthful  retreat  occasionally 
from  the  cares  of  business  within  the  confines  of  a  city 
which  in  magnitude  was  rapidly  becoming  metropoli- 
tan; The  above  park  was,  by  the  action  of  the  Chicago, 
Milwaukee  and  St.  Paul  railway,  rendered  nugatory. 
In  fact,  so  far  as  pertaining  to  the  purposes  for  which 
the  purchase  was  made,  the  ground  might  as  well  have 
formed  part  of  one  of  the  islands  of  the  sea. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 


A^D  now,  as  the  journey  of  life  progresses,  I  come 
to  the  year  1883.  My  daughter  Annie,  the  wife 
of  Dr.  Stoddart,  at  this  time  paid  us  a  visit  from  San 
Francisco.  She  warmly  invited  us  to  go  back  with  her, 
over  the  frowning  Rockies  and  away  into  the  land  of 
gold,  the  great  Eldorado  of  '49.  To  her  we  have  given 
our  consent,  but  wait  for  a  special  invitation  from  the 
Doctor,  nor  had  we  long  to  wait.  A  letter  from  Archie 
settled  the  matter,  the  purport  of  which  was  not  to 
come  home  without  the  old  folks,  thereby  giving  us  a 
hearty  welcome,  which  the  experience  of  two  years  has 
failed  to  dim. 

And  now  comes  the  ordeal  of  painful  parting  of 
real  friends.  (For  God's  sake  !  tell  me  not  the  world  is 
cold  and  selfish.)  The  declining  years  of  my  four-score 
have  been  much  sweetened  by  very  kind  friends.  For 
all  their  generosity  I  am  grateful.  The  good-by  at  the 
depot  on  the  I5th  of  July,  1883,  was  too  touching  to 
dwell  upon.  Nor  did  it  end  there.  Our  train  passing 
through  Elgin,  there  we  found  a  host  of  friends  under 
the  auspices  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Martin  and  family,  laden 
down  with  delicate  provisions  for  our  long  journey. 

Having  yielded  to  the  importunities  of  our  two 
daughters  to  spend  our  golden  wedding  with  them  in 
the  far  west,  we  face  the  setting  sun  in  all  his  glory. 

205 


206  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   KEMI]S*SCENCES 

The  journey  proved  very  pleasurable  to  me.  My  ad- 
miration arose  to  ecstasy  by  the  varied  grandeur  of  the 
scenery,  the  easy  accommodation  of  the  transit,  and 
the  marvelous  advance  of  civil  engineering  which  en- 
abled it  to  overcome  the  gigantic  natural  obstacles 
that  stood  in  its  way.  Which  to  admire  the  most  is 
a  problem  not  easy  to  solve.  Suffice  it  that  when  we 
arrived  at  Oakland  I  wished  the  journey  lengthened  a 
few  more  hundred  miles.  We  were  greeted  by  many 
kind  friends,  who,  in  one  of  those  splendid  boats  owned 
by  the  Central  Pacific  railway,  carried  us  across  that 
magnificent  bay  to  San  Francisco.  Thence,  after  a 
refreshing  meal  at  the  house  of  our  son-in-law,  Dr. 
Stoddart,  a  lady  drove  me  to  the  beach,  giving  me  a 
taste  of  the  trade-wind,  which  in  its  passage  over  the 
intervening  sand  dunes  fills  the  air  with  an  imponder- 
able dust,  to  the  detriment  of  the  inhabitants,  which, 
together  with  frequent  fogs  and  the  absence  of  rain 
during  the  summer  months,  renders  the  climate  of  San 
Francisco  anything  but  agreeable.  Still,  I  believe  its 
hygienic  condition  will  compare  favorably  with  cities  of 
its  size. 

It  may  be  asked,  "  What  could  be  found  in  travel- 
ing over  that  barren  region  to  evoke  pleasurable  sen- 
sations?" My  answer  in  all  humility  would  be  the 
following  quotation  from  the  poet : 

"  Of  all  the  passions  that  possess  mankind, 
The  love  of  novelty  rules  most  the  mind. 
In  search  of  this,  from  realm  to  realm  we  roam, 
Our  fleets  come  fraught  with  ev'ry  folly  home." 

The  volumes  of  a  thousand  graphic  writers  would 
fail  to  convey  the  faintest  idea  of  this  marvelous  wil- 


OF    DAVID    JOHNSTON.  207 

derness,  and  therefore  to  appreciate  this  apparent 
waste  of  God's  handiwork  it  must  be  seen.  'Tis  said 
God  makes  nothing  in  vain,  and  who  knows  but  in  the 
process  of  scientific  discovery  the  people  of  a  thousand 
years  hence  may  marvel  at  the  ignorance  of  the  pres- 
ent age  touching  this  seeming  anomaly,  which  to  the 
impatient  traveler  produces  a  sense  of  monotony, 
while  to  the  inquiring  mind  a  feeling  of  wonder  is  in- 
spired. Indeed,  I  already  perceive  through  the  col- 
umns of  the  Chronicle  that  a  number  of  acres  of  this 
waste  land  in  the  adjoining  state  of  Nevada  have  been 
reclaimed,  on  which  there  waves  a  promising  crop  of 
wheat,  enough  to  inspire  one  with  a  lively  hope  for  the 
future  of  millions  of  our  race  who  cling  to  the  fascina- 
tions of  the  city  in  order  to  escape  the  drudgery  in- 
volved in  the  reduction  of  the  soil. 

Traveling  across  the  plains  and  mountains  in  a  sec- 
ond-class conveyance  is  considered  by  many  to  be 
somewhat  irksome.  My  experience  deprives  me  the 
privilege  of  sharing  their  gloom. 

There  must  be  something  lacking  in  the  individual 
who  can  be  otherwise  than  pleasurably  transported  from 
sea  to  sea  by  such  marvelous  means,  in  so  short  a  space 
of  time,  across  a  continent  abounding  at  least  in  great 
variety  if  not  in  beauty  to  his  lack-luster  eye.  I  do 
admit  that  the  pioneers  crawling  through  that  ever- 
lasting region  of  sage  brush  and  alkali,  drawn  by  lame 
horses  and  worn-out  oxen,  must  have  had  their  pa- 
tience pretty  severely  taxed  for  tedious  weeks.  The 
same  space  is  now  traversed  in  as  many  days  as  re- 
quired weeks  previous  to  the  Credit  Mobilier.  The  end 
of  such  wonderful  accomplishments  goes  a  long  way  to 


208  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES. 

justify  the  means.  To  carry  a  railway  over  this  conti- 
nent by  honest,  plodding  every-day  maxims  would 
have  required  more  working  days  than  a  century  could 
number.  Therefore,  scrupulosity  had  to  divest  itself 
of  its  starch  and  stoop  to  measures  extraordinary.  Per- 
sonally I  am  grateful  for  an  easy,  pleasurable  transit 
over  a  country  which  I  had  for  many  years  desired  to 
traverse,  and  when  my  allotted  time  of  two  years  is  up 
I  hope  to  be  able  to  take  the  southern  route  for  Chi- 
cago, or,  should  the  June  month  be  too  hot,  I  shall 
have  no  objections  to  retrace  our  steps  through  Nevada 
and  Ogden,  which  I  enjoyed  so  much  hitherward. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 


"  Sweet  are  the  uses  of  adversity;  which,  like  the  toad, 

Ugly  and  venomous,  wears  yet  a  precious  jewel  in  his  head; 
And  this  our  life,  exempt  from  public  haunt, 
Finds  tongues  in  trees,  books  in  running  brooks, 
Sermons  in  stones,  and  good  in  everything." 

— Shakespeare. 

THE  opinion  of  one  who  has  spent  but  365  days  in 
a  city,  methinks,  cannot  be  entitled  to  much  re- 
spect when  written  in  the  spirit  of  criticism.  I  would 
not  seek  to  imitate  the  Frenchman  who,  after  chatter- 
ing a  few  days  with  his  countrymen  in  his  cafe  in 
Leicester  Square,  London,  rushes  back  to  his  faubourg 
to  afflict  the  world  with  a  treatise  on  the  manners  and 
customs  of  England.  At  the  same  time  I  may  be 
allowed  to  indulge  in  a  few  remarks  on  those  peculiar- 
ities which  attracted  my  attention.  No  stranger  can 
traverse  the  main  artery  of  the  plan  without  detecting 
the  grievous  blunder  of  the  engineer  who  laid  out  the 
city  of  San  Francisco,  causing  a  great  waste  of  precious 
land  and  much  danger  to  pedestrians.  Perhaps  it  may 
be  advanced  that  the  topography  of  the  site  denied  the 
adoption  of  right  angles,  but  that  idea  will  fail  in  the 
face  of  a  careful  survey.  Just  here  it  may  be  proper, 
as  a  set-off,  in  the  name  of  the  majority,  to  thank  the 
generous-hearted  Lotta,  who  in  her  munificence  pre- 
14  209 


210  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

sented  .  San  Francisco,  the  city  of  her  birth,  with  a 
fountain,  which  stands  not  only  as  a  thing  of  expensive 
beauty  but  as  a  shield  of  protection  to  the  humble 
traveler  as  he  is  jostled  across  the  most  dangerous  of 
all  the  spots  that  disgrace  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
thoroughfares  on  the  continent. 

Notwithstanding  the  above  supposed  defect  San 
Francisco  is  a  noble  and  beautiful  city,  containing  nu- 
merous splendid  buildings,  churches,  schools,  theaters, 
and  public  halls  without  number.  With  a  meager  sup- 
ply of  water  the  fire  department  is  superb.  I  noticed 
that  while  a  large  proportion  of  the  dwellings  are  con- 
structed of  wood  it  is  rare  to  have  an  extensive  fire. 
Some  of  the  streets  are  well  paved,  while  others  are 
struggling  to  get  rid  of  the  barbarous  cobble-stone  pave- 
ment, which,  in  the  city's  primitive  state,  the  pioneers, 
without  regard  to  size  or  fitness,  were  wont  to  use. 

Here,  as  almost  everywhere,  the  Scottish  element 
thrives.  The  St.  Andrew's  Society,  the  Caledonian 
Club  and  the  Thistle  Club  are  working,  each  in  its  own 
course,  yet  in  perfect  harmony,  together.  In  every 
nook  of  that  inland  sea,  called  the  bay,  there  are  pleas- 
ant places  of  public  resort,  which  enables  societies  to 
indulge,  by  means  of  the  inimitable  ferry  system  exist- 
ing, in  the  picnic  mode  of  pleasure  and  reunion,  and 
the  reader  may  believe  that  the  Scotch  are  anything 
but  slow  to  avail  themselves  of  the  facilities.  And  now, 
our  golden  wedding  over,  our  twelve  months'  trial  of 
the  west  shore  terminated,  and  the  wife  and  I  having  a 
little  touch  of  rheumatism,  we  resolve  to  try  the  milder 
climate  of  Oakland.  Before  we  take  the  boat  suppose 
we  take  a  peep  at 


OF  DAVID  JOHNSTON.  211 

WOODWARD'S  GARDEN. 

We  cannot  afford  to  pass  unnoticed  the  favorite 
place  of  resort  bearing  the  above  title. 

I  am  informed  that  this  school,  combining  practical 
instruction  with  innocent  amusement,  emanates  from 
the  patriotic  effort  of  an  individual,  and  that  that  indi- 
vidual has  passed  away. 

In  the  history  of  large  cities  we  find  the  public  fre- 
quently indebted  to  personal  enterprise.  Thus  the 
refined  taste  and  liberal  pertinacity  of  Madame  Tussaud 
have  culminated  in  one  of  the  lions  of  London.  It 
would  be  hard  to  suppose  any  one  sojourning  in  the 
metropolis,  even  for  a  few  days,  failing  to  visit  her 
Baker  street  establishment  of  wonders. 

In  like  manner  is  the  community  of  St.  Louis  in- 
debted to  Mr.  Shaw  (an  English  gentleman)  for  his 
princely  gift  of  his  garden  and  museum  to  the  city. 

Milwaukee  is  also  beholden  to  one  of  her  eminent 
brewers  (Mr.  Schlitz)  for  the  only  park  of  which  she 
can  boast  (now  they  have  the  National).  The  parks 
and  boulevards  of  Chicago  are  the  wonder  of  the  world, 
for  so  young  a  city.  They  are  supported  by  local  tax- 
ation, which  doubtless  falls  heavily  on  all  adjacent  prop- 
erty, while  the  drives  are  new.  The  incentive  spirit  of 
the  gigantic  scheme  emanated  from  the  late  Col.  Bowen, 
a  far-seeing  man,  and  doubtless  the  growing  increase  of 
the  marketable  value  of  that  property  has  served  to 
convince  the  owners  of  the  soundness  of  the  enter- 
prise. 

In  the  early  days  of  San  Francisco  Mr.  Woodward, 
the  founder  of  his  place  of  public  resort,  had  kept 
the  What  Cheer  Hotel  for  many  years  during  the 


212  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

wild  frenzy  of  its  gold-hunting  mania.  Prospering  in 
business  he  there  founded  what  now  constitutes  the 
basis  of  this  wonderful  place  of  popular  amusement — 
his  museum,  which  he  moved  to  his  private  residence 
on  quitting  the  hotel  business.  During  the  national 
struggle  of  1861-64  the  expense  of  sending  troops  to 
the  front  placed  California  necessarily  in  the  rear  of  her 
quota. 

But  if  nature  placed  her  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
fighting  front  she  forgot  not  her  equally  important 
duties  of  healing  and  nurturing  in  the  rear,  as  her  quota 
to  the  sanitary  fund  at  the  close  of  the  war  bore  ample 
testimony.  In  raising  the  needful  funds  Mr.  Wood- 
ward took  a  prominent  part,  and  the  use  to  which  he 
put  his  private  property  in  aid  of  the  patriotic  move- 
ment may  be  said  to  be  the  advent  of  one  of  the  lions 
of  this  wonderful  city.  In  April,  1884,  I  visited  this 
place,  and  for  admittance  fee  of  twenty-five  cents 
feasted  my  eyes  with  more  sights  than  memory  will 
serve  to  enumerate.  Overlooking  the  museum  for  an- 
other day  I  am  struck  with  the  healthy  appearance  of 
all  the  specimens  of  zoology,  particularly  the  lioness 
and  her  three  cubs,  the  amusing  variety  of  the  monkey 
tribe,  and  the  goat  carriage,  riding  swings,  and  other 
amusements  for  youth  in  this  arena,  the  camera  ob- 
scura  and  the  circular  boat,  the  wonders  of  the  aqua- 
rium and  piscatorial  variety  and  propagation,  and  the 
ingenious  subterraneous  methods  of  displaying  the 
specimens  of  the  aquatic  school. 

Now  the  bell  rings  and  thousands  throng  to  see  the 
drama.  Here  the  ear-splitting  sounds  of  a  thousand 
throats  of  Young  America  startle  the  stranger,  and  at  the 


OF    DAVID   JOHNSTON.  213 

same  time  fill  him  with  surprise  that  notwithstanding 
the  latitude  given  to  youth  the  order  of  the  theater  is 
good.  The  performance  is  light  and  fair,  but  such  a 
pair  of  acrobats  I  never  beheld.  If  there  was  a  bone 
left  in  their  bodies  it  would  be  a  puzzle  to  locate  it. 

We  then  repair  to  the  music  hall,  where,  in  addi- 
tion to  good  vocal  and  instrumental  music,  the  out- 
ward man  can  be  refreshed  with  the  choicest  viands 
and  beverages,  after  which  we  take  a  general  view  of 
the  fascinating  spot  in  all  its  richest  spring  beauty,  and 
on  our  way  to  the  gate  call  on  the  sea  lions,  the  mon- 
strous alligators,  and  other  wonders  of  the  deep.  Sur- 
charged with  the  perfume  of  ten  thousand  flowers,  we 
make  our  exit,  and  feel  like  treating  ourselves  to  an- 
other visit  to  this  municipal  blessing.  On  the  5th  of 
October,  1883,  we  spent  a  very  pleasant  day  on  board 
the  Enos  Soule,  a  fine  ship  at  anchor  in  the  bay,  where 
she  had  lain  awaiting  a  charter  for  many  months  (an 
evidence  of  the  extraordinary  depression  of  the  period 
of  mercantile  interests).  The  day  was  fine,  the  light 
wind  approaching  the  ship  favorable,  and  the  entertain- 
ment on  board  sumptuous.  Mrs.  Captain  Laurens,  the 
friend  of  my  daughter,  generally  accompanied  her  hus- 
band on  his  voyages  to  distant  parts  of  the  globe. 

The  menu  reflected  credit  alike  on  the  caterer  and 
(Wing  Hi)  the  cook,  who,  with  the  mate  and  carpenter, 
was  the  only  man  retained  on  board.  The  carpenter 
(Israel  Pearson)  was  communicative,  and  I  took  an  in- 
terest in  his  yarns,  particularly  the  one  following  of  the 
polite  attention  of  the  redoubtable  Captain  Semmes,  of 
the  Alabama,  of  rebellious  fame.  "  In  October,  1862," 
said  Israel,  "  I  was  carpenter  on  board  the  La  Fayette, 


214  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL    REMINISCENCES 

Captain  Small  (brother  to  Mrs.  Laurens).  She  was  a 
fine  ship,  two  years  old,  built  in  Freeport,  Maine.  We 
were  three  days  out  of  New  York  harbor,  laden  with 
wheat,  flour  and  lard,  for  Glasgow,  when  we  had  the 
misfortune  to  fall  under  the  lynx  eye  of  Semmes,  whose 
first  salutation  (a  shot  across  our  bows)  not  being 
answered  sufficiently  prompt  to  please  the  man  of 
power,  his  second  shot  came  too  near  to  our  cut-water 
to  be  pleasant.  We  hove  to ;  he  boarded  us,  and 
placed  our  crew  in  the  mortifying  position  of  prisoners 
on  board  of  his  corsair  craft  to  witness  our  good  ship 
La  Fayette,  blessing-bound  with  her  precious  cargo, 
sunk  before  our  eyes,  in  dire  memento  of  our  suicidal 
war,  the  natural  result  of  unhallowed  ambition." 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 


From  John  O'Groat's  to  Land's  End  search 
I  have  not  one  rod,  pole  or  perch, 
To  pay  my  rent  or  tithes  in  church, 
That  I  can  call  my  own. 

—Hood. 

OAKLAND  is  a  delightful  city,  well  laid  out,  in 
the  county  of  Alameda,  on  the  east  bank  of  the 
bay,  which  at  this  point  is  inconveniently  shallow. 
To  meet  this  difficulty  the  Central  Pacific  Railroad 
Company  was,  in  order  to  answer  the  demands  of 
an  immense  traffic  to  and  from  the  great  city,  put  to 
an  enormous  expense,  by  running  a  solid  way  with  a 
double  track  of  steel  rails  out  one  and  a  half  miles  to 
deep  water,  the  terminus  sufficiently  widened  whereon 
to  build  an  extensive  depot,  which  is,  for  comfort  and 
convenience  to  the  traveling  public,  surpassed  by  none. 
In  addition  to  the  above  grand  facilities  the  same 
corporation,  for  the  privilege  of  running  their  trains 
through  one  of  the  streets  of  Oakland,  agreed  for  a 
term  of  years  to  run  a  train  to  and  fro  every  half  hour, 
with  nine  convenient  stoppages,  without  any  charge, 
much  to  the  infinite  delight  of  Young  America,  who,  to 
the  annoyance  of  passengers  and  regardless  of  danger, 
play  at  hide-and-seek  on  the  train.  The  drives  around 
Oakland  are  remarkably  beautiful,  and  the  kindness 

215 


210  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

we  received  at  the  hands  of  our  neighbors  can  never 
be  forgotten.  By  means  of  their  carnages  we  visited 
every  spot  of  interest  within  reach,  and  at  great  expense 
a  neighbor  of  Clara's  treated  us  to  a  journey  to  an  enter- 
tainment at  the  Hotel  Del  Monte,  at  Monterey,  which 
trip,  together  with  the  privilege  of  enjoying  the  rich 
country  leading  thereto,  is  held  in  grateful  remembrance; 
abo  the  pleasant  ride  among  the  foot-hills  of  Berkeley, 
under  favor  of  the  same  family.  Within  a  radius  of 
ten  miles  this  may  be  safely  pronounced  one  of  the 
most  wonderful  and  beautiful  spots  on  the  conti- 
nent of  America.  This  eastern  shore  of  the  bay  is 
teeming  with  population:  Berkeley,  Brighton,  Oakland, 
Alameda,  might  be  said  to  be  one  town,  and  away  be- 
yond, ascending  the  foot-hills  where  my  daughter  Clara 
dwells.  Still  further  out  among  these  beautiful  hills, 
are  the  chalybeate  springs  of  Piedmont,  a  favorite  place 
of  public  resort,  where  there  is  a  well-patronized  hotel, 
reachable  for  ten  cents  from  the  center  of  Oakland  by 
street  cars.  The  springs  trickle  from  the  rocks  at  the  bot- 
tom of  a  very  deep,  romantic  dell,  and  are  evidently  much 
impregnated  with  metallic  substances,  and  are  said  to  be 
eminently  medicinal, — in  short,  a  perfect  panacea  for  cer- 
tain diseases.  From  the  neighboring  heights  are  at- 
tainable rich  views  of  the  surrounding  scenery,  including 
the  bay  and  its  islands,  and  Lake  Merritt.  Here,  also, 
is  Mountain  View  Cemetery,  ramifying  among  the  beau- 
tiful foot-hills,  teeming  with  roses  of  such  varied  tints 
and  perfection  as  I  never  beheld  in  the  east,  all  shel- 
tered under  the  bolder  mountains  in  the  distance  whose 
somber  majesty  makes  the  scene  so  bewitchingly  com- 
plete. 


OF    DAVID   JOHNSTON.  217 

To  the  north  and  west  of  this  spot,  on  rising  ground, 
is  the  bathing  ground  of  Alameda,  where  we  spent  a 
week.  This  is  a  place  of  great  resort  during  the  bath- 
ing season,  and  a  number  of  merchants  across  the  bay 
make  a  permanent  residence  here,  who  show  great  taste 
in  their  splendid  gardens.  As  a  public  drive  the  con- 
templated boulevard  around  Lake  Merritt  will  be  the 
finest  on  the  continent. 

The  University  of  California  is  situated  among  the 
foot-hills  of  Berkeley,  a  few  miles  to  the  north  of  Oakland. 
The  buildings  are  plain  and  substantial,  and  the  grounds 
are  extensive  and  well  laid  out,  and  adorned  by  a  moun- 
tain stream  running  through  a  romantic  glen,  whose 
banks  are  ornamented  with  rich  foliage  and  the  finest 
and  most  grotesque-shaped  oaks  I  ever  beheld.  From 
the  buildings  and  the  elevated  grounds  behind  you 
obtain  the  most  advantageous  view  of  the  celebrated 
Golden  Gate,  the  bay,  with  its  islands  and  its  thriving 
towns  in  every  nook,  teeming  with  a  healthy  popula- 
tion. 

Within  a  few  miles  of  this  delightful  spot  is  Shell 
Mound  Park,  one  of  those  enchanting  places  of  public 
resort  which  appear  in  California  to  be  much  in  requi- 
'sition,  and  of  which,  I  must  say,  the  supply  is  more 
than  equal  to  the  demand.  Picnicing  is  here  reduced 
to  a  science.  Churches,  Sabbath  and  secular  schools, 
societies  open  and  secret,  professions,  trades,  nation- 
alities, pioneers  antique  and  modern,  all  have  their  clubs, 
and  all  relax  their  labors  by  the  periodical  picnic. 

The  Scotch,  famed  for  their  cordial  affiliation  with 
the  inhabitants  of  the  country  of  their  adoption,  are 
here  emphatically  at  home. 


218  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES. 

In  Oakland  we  hired  the  house  of  Mr.  Smith,  on 
Sycamore  street,  which  was  furnished,  intending  to 
remain  till  we  departed  for  the  east.  This  is  a  lovely 
spot,  centering  within  convenient  reach  of  the  finest 
drives  through  splendid  scenery  such  as  I  have  never 
before  beheld,  with  an  endless  variety  of  roses  and 
geraniums  and  all  the  hardier  flowering  plants  in  full 
bloom,  perfuming  the  air  with  their  rich  effulgent  beauty 
now,  while  I  dot  it  down,  this  Christmas  morn  of  1884. 
Would  that  my  pen  were  graphic  enough  to  do  justice 
to  the  blessings  by  which  we  are  here  surrounded,  but, 
like  all  mundane  things,  they  are  evanescent,  and  the 
hour  is  silently  but  surely  approaching  when  the 
dreaded  word  "farewell"  must  be  pronounced.  We 
flatter  ourselves  that  the  parting  pain  is  shared  by 
dear  Clara,  by  her  family,  and  by  her  numerous  Oak- 
land friends,  who  have  proved  so  kind  to  us. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 


"  A  careless  thing,  who  placed  his  choice  in  chance, 
Nursed  by  the  legends  of  his  land's  romance. 
Eager  to  hope,  but  not  less  firm  to  bear; 
Acquainted  with  all  feelings,  save  despair." 

— Byron. 

TEN  dollars  each,  in  addition  to  the  usual  fare 
($52.50),  secured  the  privilege  of  joining  the 
teachers  of  Oakland  in  an  excursion  to  the  east.  The 
incidents  attending  this  journey  were  of  a  many  and 
varied  character,  partaking  of  tragedy,  comedy  and 
serio-comic.  On  reaching  Sacramento  a  party  joined 
the  excursion  consisting  of  a  lady  and  her  two  children 
(Mrs.  Dr.  Tinckham),  the  eldest  a  beautiful  girl  16 
years  old,  the  youngest  a  boy  about  8.  The  train  had 
reached  but  a  short  distance  when,  at  Rocklin,  the 
report  of  a  pistol  was  heard  from  a  car  in  the  rear 
of  us.  In  common  with  others  I  rushed  to  the 
melancholy  scene  to  behold  that  beautiful  young  lady 
in  her  mother's  embrace,  breathing  her  last.  The  ball 
had  penetrated  her  heart,  and  such  was  the  sym- 
pathetic confusion  at  the  time  that  the  fellow  who  did 
the  shooting  was  suffered  to  escape.  Opinion  on  the 
train  was  pretty  evenly  divided  as  to  whether  the 
tragical  event  was  the  result  of  accident  or  design.  In 
either  case,  had  the  scoundrel  been  caught  it  would 
have  stood  hard  with  him. 

219 


220  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL    REMINISCENCES 

We  are  slow  in  remedial  measures  to  check  a  fear- 
fully growing  evil — the  concealed-weapon  curse.  While 
we  lament  the  tragic  feature  of  our  excursion,  we  must 
not  omit  the  serio-comic  portion  thereof.  On  our  way 
through  the  valley  of  Utah  from  Ogden  to  Denver,  by 
the  narrow-gauge  Rio  Grande  railroad,  the  party  was 
divided  up,  some  desirous  of  seeing  the  lions  of  Salt 
Lake  City,  others  anxious  to  proceed  to  Denver.  The 
latter  party  we  joined,  and  proceeded  on  our  way  to 
Denver.  On  approaching  Provo  City  I  inquired  of  the 
conductor  how  long  we  stopped  there  for  dinner.  His 
laconic  answer  was,  "thirty  minutes."  Having  dined,  I 
resolved  to  employ  my  time  taking  a  photograph  of 
the  snow-capped  mountain  of  Nebo.  It  seemed  posed 
and  draped  ready  for  its  picture.  I  had  succeeded  in 
posing  the  mountain  and  had  him  in  focus  when  the 
train  was  backed,  cutting  off  the  view.  I  had  just  time 
to  throw  the  plate  away  at  the  depot  and  behold  the 
train  growing  beautifully  less  in  the  distance.  Here 
was  I,  penniless,  left  among  the  Mormons,  with  my 
wife,  daughter  and  ticket  retreating  from  my  helpless 
view.  I  seated  myself  on  a  bench  and  ventilated  my 
feelings  by  perpetrating  the  following  doggerel : 

This  smiling  morn  of  June, 

By  Utah's  lovely  banks, 
I  find  my  heart  in  tune 

To  offer  up  my  thanks, 
That  thus  I'm  left  behind 

This  paradise  to  view. 
The  faults  let  others  find, 

I  sing  of  merits  due. 
Fleeing  from  the  tyrant, 

A  helpless,  homeless  race, 
Here  they  found  a  desert, 


OF    DAVID  JOHNSTON". 

New  trials  stern  to  face. 
Now  a  smiling  garden 

Meets  the  wondering  gaze, 
The  traveler  stands  aghast 

At  the  marvel  of  the  phase; 
Nor  has  he  time  to  probe 

The  every  ways  and  means, 
By  which  the  broad  disparity 

Is  made  to  lie  between; 
Whereas  he  found  a  wilderness, 

A  sterile,  barren  waste, 
Now  a  scene  of  beauty 

Adorned  by  arts  and  taste. 

While  thus  engaged,  the  telegrapher,  seeing  me 
writing  from  his  window,  asked  me  if  I  was  communi- 
cating with  the  train  for  my  ticket.  When  shown  the 
fruits  of  my  study  he  seemed  tickled,  and  asked  per- 
mission to  copy  the  lines  in  his  journal.  Being  allowed 
he  immediately  became  my  friend.  He  proffered  his 
services  to  row  me  on  the  lake,  and  in  two  hours 
handed  me  a  note  from  my  thoughtful  Annie,  inclosing 
my  ticket  and  a  $5  bill,  with  instructions  to  my  erring 
steps  to  take  the  train  on  the  following  day  with  the 
remainder  of  the  party.  Extraordinary  kindness  ap- 
peared to  be  brought  into  full  play  by  my  mishap. 
Well  entertained  at  the  hotel  in  Provo  I  took  the  train 
as  directed  on  the  following  day.  The  ladies  of  the 
party  partook  of  no  delicacy  that  I  must  not  share.  On 
reaching  the  grand  junction  we  were  met  by  a  telegram 
announcing  the  destruction  of  a  bridge  between  us  and 
Denver,  and  consequently  had  to  retrace  our  steps  to 
Ogden,  thence  by  Cheyenne  to  Denver — a  city  which, 
for  enterprise,  was  more  like  Chicago  than  any  I  had 
seen — which  we  reached  two  hours  after  our  folks 


222  AUTOBIOGEAPHICAL   REMINISCENCES 

had  started  for  Omaha,  where,  after  a  separation  of 
some  four  days,  we  met  to  traverse  the  rich  fertile 
fields  of  Iowa  and  Illinois  together  to  the  live  city  of 
Chicago,  where  we  were  in  two  weeks  after  our  arrival 
visited  by  our  benefactor,  Dr.  Stoddart,  who,  in  his 
munificence,  purchased  a  splendid  new  brick  house 
for  us,  wherein  to  dwell  and  end  our  days  when 
the  time  comes  for  us  to  go ;  and  now  this  juncture 
suggests  itself  to  me  as  a  fitting  time  to  close  this 
desultory  record.  Notwithstanding  its  being  a  pledge 
redeemed,  I  go  to  press  with  fear  and  trembling.  I 
have  endeavored,  by  interspersing  such  historical  mat- 
ter as  came  from  time  to  time  under  my  notice,  to 
tone  down  that  crude  personality  which  a  volume  of 
this  nature  is  apt  to  assume,  rather  than  make  any 
attempt  to  embellish.  I  ask  my  circle  of  friends  to  be 
tender  in  their  criticism.  Beyond  that  circle  I  have 
not  the  presumption  to  look. 

On  politics  in  these  memoirs  I  have  been  somewhat 
reticent.  However,  I  think  due  to  my  democratic 
friends  (and  they  are  numerous  as  they  are  respected) 
some  reasons  for  my  clinging  so  pertinaciously  to  the 
opposite  party.  Those  friends  will  doubtless  agree 
with  me  in  the  assertion  that  hatred  of  slavery  is 
natural  to  a  Scottish  man.  This  feeling  of  hatred  had 
the  effect  of  drawing  me  into  the  ranks  of  the  anti- 
slavery  society  in  London.  After  residing  in  that  city 
twenty-seven  years  I  became  a  citizen  of  this  great 
republic,  and  for  ten  years  voted  in  Wisconsin  by 
virtue  of  my  first  papers.  It  so  happened  that,  landing 
in  this  country  in  1848,  I  found  the  agitations  of  the 
factions  pretty  high.  The  slave-power,  squirming 


OF   DAVID   JOHNSTON.  223 

under  trammels  of  former  compromises,  was  assuming 
a  bolder  front,  threatening  the  stultification  of  Mason 
and  Dixon's  line  and  the  measures  employed  in  the 
introduction  of  Missouri  into  the  Union  in  1821.  To 
counteract  those  influences  a  new  platform  was  formed 
at  Buffalo,  under  the  auspices  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  called 
the  "  free-soil  platform."  Could  there  be  any  marvel 
that  I  should  become  attached  to  that  party  whose 
proclivities  were  so  much  in  unison  with  my  past  life? 
This  party  ripened  into  what  is  now  called  the  Repub- 
lican party.  With  its  laudable  endeavors  I  have 
drifted,  and  at  this  late  day  regret  it  not,  although  I 
think  the  nation  has  profited  by  our  defeat  at  the  last 
presidential  election.  All  honor  to  the  present  incum- 
bent !  May  his  noble  efforts  to  purify  this  grand 
republic  from  all  evils  which  the  bias  of  party  spirit 
inevitably  engenders  be  crowned  with  success,  is  the 
sincere  wish  of  the  subscriber,  D.  J. 


